A.N.: Hi everyone! So…a departure from canon… My fortieth chapter for Dangerous Beauty! That means one hundred total Giulia chapters! Hope you like!


Dangerous Beauty

40

A Proposal


After he had body-snatched Ric, expelling Klaus from Ric's body was easier than anticipated. Giulia gave him a few days, just to let Klaus saunter around thinking he was ahead of the game. The dozen texts Giulia had sent 'Ric' reminding him that he and Sheila had both promised to sit with her and go through her thesis before she turned it in had possibly annoyed Klaus into action: but the temptation of Giulia's presence – he knew exactly who she was and what she was to Elijah – and the opportunity to kill one of only two witches in town who could help Elijah was enough to bring him to Sheila's porch.

He never even got to knock on the door.

Sheila was good. Subtle, powerful magic, she was unpredictable and well-prepared; she had discussed the plan with Giulia only. She and Bonnie had gotten into a huge fight even Giulia had heard about; Sheila had called her, after the fight she had with her granddaughter, upset, rattled, but determined. Sheila would do what she had to, to protect Bonnie; she didn't want Bonnie to be the one in her position. She believed Bonnie was too young, too unpractised – too petulant to use her powers well. She had already proven her friends couldn't trust Bonnie to use her magic wisely, to protect them; not disabling the Gilbert device had led to Caroline's death, and Sheila knew that. She didn't forgive her granddaughter for thinking she knew better.

The spell on her porch activated the moment Klaus stood on the doormat. He was, literally, and without warning, booted out of Ric's body, flung back to his own – with a hidden gem, a locator-spell tacked onto him to track where Klaus was, undetectable, but very useful.

Giulia had observed him enough in Elijah's memories, knew enough about his personality and tactics to know the plan would work faultlessly. Klaus was brash, arrogant and ostentatious – he had no appreciation for subtlety, for the fine details, he believed himself invincible. And he expected everyone with power to emulate his behaviour. To be like him; flashy, egotistical, cruel.

The most powerful magic was the most subtle.

And everyone knew: It was always the quiet ones.

Sheila was that quiet, unexpected woman.

And expelling Klaus from Ric's body was all in the preparation. She didn't have to talk to him; see him; reveal she had gone with Giulia to harness the power of a hundred-ish dead witches – so the Martin witches couldn't abuse it, so her granddaughter couldn't be pressured into using it. Tapping into magic like that wasn't for the ambitious, for the inexperienced: Sheila wanted nothing more than to protect her granddaughter. She was – old. Her life was her granddaughter and her teaching role at the university, gin-rummy night with her friends, book-club, chatting with her wacky mother on the phone while she made gumbo. And she knew better than to get involved in vampire business. She involved herself with Giulia because she knew the favours would be repaid; and Giulia was human, and determined to protect the people she cared about. Old loyalty meant Sheila's granddaughter was included under that umbrella of her protection.

Giulia had orchestrated everything so that only the barest minimum people were actually involved in the sacrifice. In her plan. Sheila respected Elijah's honourable reputation; she had been allowed to read him through direct contact too many times not to have gotten a good measure of him, and she trusted Giulia's instincts.

Sheila knew a little of her plan, enough to warn her against some of it, but she respected Giulia, and understood Elijah's position on a lot of things.

There was one thing that occurred that distracted them all long enough, in the most marvellous way, the final extraordinarily wonderful thing to happen before the sacrifice, before everything would change.

Giulia was invited to family-night at the Gilbert house. She made a cake, and arrived after her last afternoon class, leaving Elijah home-alone to make phone-calls to Kol and play the piano. She was sure he was doing other things, things he didn't want her to know about until later, but she left him to it, trying not to dwell on the anxious twinge that flittered through her every time she thought about what was coming.

It wasn't even Klaus or the sacrifice that had her nervous.

She…didn't want to give up Elijah.

But she wouldn't allow his loss to cripple her. He wouldn't want her to; she had too many adventures in her future to let her life be ruined by grief, to be miserable she couldn't share it with him. There would be others: not the same, but still worthy of her time, her love.

"Am I talking to Ric-Ric or Klaus-Ric?" Giulia teased, and Ric rolled his eyes as he looped an arm around her shoulders in a hug.

"Hey," he said, smiling lazily, that earnest gleam in his eyes. "Good to know you're on top-form tonight. I hope you don't mind Chinese – we kinda burned the pizza."

"When he says 'we' Ric's just being very generous!" Jenna called from the kitchen, and Ric winked at her, taking the cake-tin and flowers and leading the way into the kitchen, where Jenna had poured a glass of wine for the two of them. She looked pissed off about something, but she beamed at Giulia when she strode in with Ric. Jenna's books were still spread out on the kitchen-table, her laptop open. "Hey! I'm glad you could make it! How were classes?"

"Okay," Giulia smiled. "I had to meet with my counsellor so we could discuss my transfer to NYU. And then I had a meeting with my accountant and financial-advisor. I think I scared them; I think they were expecting…"

"A seventeen-year-old girl," Jenna laughed.

"Yeah," Giulia sighed. "Anyway, how are you?"

"Well, I am in the final proofread of my thesis," Jenna grinned. "God help me, I'm getting it printed and bound this weekend so I can hand it in early. All this supernatural drama has really helped me manage my time a little better. Having two kids and a boyfriend helps, too."

"I'll bet," Giulia said. She frowned at Jenna. "Are you okay? Where are Jeremy and Elena?"

"Jeremy is upstairs," Jenna said lightly. She took a breath, looking like she was controlling her anger. "Elena's somewhere with Stefan. I think they referenced a movie or the mall or something before they ran out the door. Last few days before the sacrifice, I guess; they're trying to get it all in before then."

"They're trying to get something in," Giulia sniffed, crinkling her nose. "Well, I guess there's more Chinese food and fewer people for me to slaughter in Clue!"

"Why don't you put that laptop away, far away from any water-sources or temperamental power-outlets," Ric said, giving Jenna a look, "and why don't you go grab Jeremy for us; food should be here in a few minutes." Giulia grinned, darting into the hall; she flung herself up the stairs two at a time, bounding into Jeremy's room, and burst through the door.

She stopped, and gaped, delighted incredulity starting a laugh bubbling from the pit of her stomach; she gasped, and grinned.

"Ashlyn?"

A rumpled blonde gasped, flicked her hand so the covers swept over the two naked, writhing bodies; she glanced frantically at a red-faced Jeremy, and disappeared. There was no puff of smoke, but Jeremy yelped and landed on the mattress with an "Oof!" bouncing on his front.

Giulia laughed. She laughed, and laughed, and laughed. She was still laughing, tears streaming down her eyes, as she collapsed against the door, her phone buzzing; she was laughing too hard to actually breathe as Jeremy tumbled from the bed, sheets around his waist, to slam the bathroom door on her, mortified. She hiccoughed and giggled, sniffing, pushing the tears from her cheeks, and gurgled, "Hi, Ashlyn."

"PLEASE DON'T TELL!" Ashlyn pleaded frantically, and Giulia laughed.

"I can't – I can't – I can't even breathe!" she laughed. She laughed, resting her head back against the door.

"We haven't told anyone we're dating, I haven't even told Cara I'm…"

"No longer in need of battery-operated devices," Giulia tsked tauntingly. "You saucy little trollop! Seducing Jeremy by astral-projection! That's kind of…kinky. Kinda sexy."

"Please don't tell Elijah," Ashlyn whispered. Giulia chuckled.

"I promise," she said softly. She glanced at the bathroom-door. "Poor boy; you've left Jeremy with blue-balls."

"Giulia!"

"Our dinner should arrive soon; you've got time to give him a good seeing to before we eat," Giulia teased. "You could even join us?"

"I can't – I wouldn't be able to look you in the eye."

She grimaced, a thought occurring. "Please tell me this wasn't your first time…"

"No," Ashlyn said softly. "It wasn't." Giulia let out a sigh, relieved.

"Well, good. And don't be embarrassed; I'm having sex with Elijah against every sturdy surface I can find, so…"

"That is gross!" Ashlyn laughed.

"Come on, come back and get a leg over, Jeremy won't be able to walk," Giulia said, and burst out laughing again. "Oh, I am never gonna let you or Jeremy forget this!"

"Giulia! Come on!" Ashlyn cried, but she was laughing. "Please!"

"Oh, no, it's way too good," Giulia chuckled. "Alright, I'm gonna leave Jeremy's room, you two…sort out whatever you need to… Please don't let my interrupting scar you from ever having sex again."

"Like you could!" Ashlyn laughed, and Giulia blushed this time, surprised.

"Ashlyn!" she gasped, grinning. "Alright, I'm going." She hung up the call, wrapped her knuckles against the bathroom door, and left the bedroom, closing the door behind her, laughing. She wiped her face and was still grinning as she entered the kitchen; Ric and Jenna gave her odd, funny looks.

"We heard you laughing," Jenna said, smiling. "What's so funny? What was Jeremy doing?"

"Um… Ashlyn," Giulia said, and Jenna's eyes popped, Ric's eyebrows rose.

"They were really up there…?"

"Guess it's Thrusty Thursday," Giulia shrugged, and Ric choked on his beer, darting over to the sink to spit it out, laughing, his shoulders shuddering.

"They were really…? That was quiet," Jenna said, raising her eyebrows, and Ric choked on a laugh by the sink.

"Ashlyn's a witch," Giulia said, shrugging. "Privacy spells." Jenna looked thoughtful, impressed. "Don't let on that I told you."

"Secret's safe with us," Ric grinned mischievously. The doorbell rang, and Ric strode off, calling for Jeremy. Jenna glanced at Giulia, who shrugged.

"I'm just happy…she's alive," she said quietly.

"Guess I know why Jeremy's been pushing that whole New York art-programme this summer," she smiled. Ric returned with bags of Chinese food from the delivery-guy and Jenna started to empty containers into nice dishes – not family-night protocol, so Giulia raised an eyebrow at her. She smiled, asking her to set the table, and Ric put on some music.

It was Chinese food and Trivial Pursuit – girls against guys, popcorn on the coffee-table, a John Hughes movie on in the background – Jenna had never seen Ferris Beuller's Day Off – laughing and teasing; Jeremy had appeared, flushed, and Jenna and Ric had exchanged a look while Giulia hid her face in the refrigerator, pulling out the bottle of plum sauce for the duck pancakes. There was never enough. She feasted on salt-and-pepper squid, shrimp chow mein, Peking duck pancakes, dumplings and spring-rolls, tossing popcorn back at Jeremy whenever he kept flicking it at her while the movie was on, she and Jenna thrashed the boys at Trivial Pursuit, and it was cute to see Jenna and Ric together as they played card-games. The only dampener on the evening was Elena's conspicuous absence, and Giulia knew Jenna was annoyed by it.

"Hey, uh, Jeremy, why don't you help me get the plates for cake," Ric said, and Jenna beamed at him as he passed, followed by Jeremy. Giulia yawned; she had had a late night, roused early, too, by Elijah, and things were consistently busy at school. Jenna put away the Trivial Pursuit cards, tidied up the popcorn, and Giulia watched her, aware Ric and Jeremy were taking a long time to find four plates and a knife for the cake. Usually Jenna just rolled with it when Elena ran out of the house with Stefan at the last minute, ignoring or just forgetting plans they had made; it wasn't the first family-night Elena had skipped out on. Whatever was going on, Jeremy came back from the kitchen carrying a stack of plates, grinning from ear to ear; Ric gave Jenna a subtle wink, and Giulia watched them both warily.

"What's going on?" she asked, smiling. They were being weird. Jenna glanced from her to Ric, grinning too hard to actually answer.

"I've just asked Jeremy's approval…" Ric grinned, and Giulia sat up straighter, eyes widening. Ric glanced at Jenna, his expression so warm, so consumed

"We wanted all three of you here," Jenna said, smiling, her eyes glinting with tears. Breathlessly, she declared, "We've decided we want to get married."

Giulia's jaw dropped, she gasped. She hadn't expected that!

"Oh my god!" she gasped, delight spreading through her. "Married?! To each other."

"We'd prefer that, yeah," Ric chuckled.

"Wow," Giulia breathed, amazed. She couldn't stop smiling. "Really?"

"With everything going on, we just thought… Why the hell are we not throwing ourselves in headfirst?" Jenna said, beaming. "We don't want to waste our time together."

"That's amazing," Giulia said softly, her eyes burning. Something good was happening. "You're getting married."

"Yeah," Jenna beamed. She had never looked prettier. Ric took something out of his pocket, going down on one knee to present a small black-velvet box to Jenna, who beamed, brushed a tear from her cheek and laughed shakily. Her engagement ring was a delicate little eternity-band of rose-gold set with tiny diamonds. It slipped perfectly onto her finger, and looked stunning with her strawberry-blonde colouring and fair skin. She sniffled, blinking tears away, and gave Ric a kiss.

"And… We wanted you to be the first people we told…because… Jeremy, I… I couldn't walk down the aisle without you," Jenna said, her hand clasped with Ric's as they sat together on the sofa. "There's no-one in my whole life I'd want to give me away… And, Giulia… You've always been there for me, and for Jeremy and Elena. We wouldn't have survived the first few weeks after Miranda and Grayson died without you, not taking any bullshit from Jeremy when he wouldn't get out of bed." They all laughed, and Jeremy hugged Giulia, who felt warm and emotional, unable to stop smiling, or tears burning her eyes. "You always took the time to listen while I poured out my heart to you, overwhelmed. So there's no-one else I'd even think to ask to be one of my bridesmaids."

Giulia stared at her, overwhelmed.

"Really?" she sniffled.

"Yeah," Jenna beamed. "I'm going to ask Meredith to marry us, and…I want you and Elena to be my bridesmaids."

Giulia, overwhelmed, blinked tears away. "Of course," she said hoarsely. She sniffed. "When do you want to get married?"

"This weekend."

Giulia laughed. "What? This weekend?" she grinned.

"Why not?" Jenna beamed. Giulia wiped her face.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked, and Jenna burst into tears, giving her a huge hug.

"You're the most unselfish person I have ever met," she sniffled into Giulia's shoulder, hugging her tight. "You know that?" She wiped her eyes as she let Giulia go.

"I've been married once before," Ric spoke up, his tone saddened. "We had a fairy-tale wedding; but Jenna's never had one. Would you help me give this beautiful woman the wedding she deserves?"

"Of course," Giulia sniffled, wiping her eyes. She asked, "Can I recruit Caroline?"

"Oh, yeah," Jenna laughed. "I don't think there's an option not to!" Giulia laughed, and she gasped, grinning.

"What about your dress?" Giulia asked, grinning.

"I hadn't even thought about it," Jenna said. "I haven't even thought about anything, really."

"I know someone," Giulia beamed, excited. "Can I – call them?"

"Sure," Jenna laughed. "If they can help me find a dress in our budget by the weekend…"

Giulia glanced at her, saying quietly, "Don't worry about that."

Jenna glanced at her. "Giulia…"

"Let it be my way of…saying thank-you for hauling me back from the deep-end, too," Giulia said, and Jenna gave her a tearful smile. She pulled her little notebook out of her purse, and they all sat round, eating cake, listening to music for the First Dance, and writing down everything they needed.

Jenna had never had a wedding before. And Jeremy and Elena owed it to her to make it spectacular. Elena wasn't there; but Giulia was. And she couldn't sit still, she was so happy.

Giulia had her notes, and they set to work. She called Chocolat from the Gilbert living-room while Ric called Damon to let him know Jenna had said yes: he'd gone to Richmond with Ric before Klaus had body-snatched him to pick out an engagement-ring. Subtle was timeless, Damon had advised him; his great-granddaughters could wear Jenna's simple bands. Giulia sent photographs of Jenna and her measurements to Chocolat, while Jenna chatted on the phone with him, upstairs out of Ric's earshot.

She left the Gilbert house later that night, jittery and excited and overwhelmed with happiness – her own, Jenna and Ric's. Her mind tumbled with things they had to organise before the weekend: Chocolat was going to work nonstop to create the perfect gown, two bridesmaid-dresses, and a suit for Ric and Jeremy. Ric wanted barbecue; Jenna wanted Giulia's poached peaches with amaretto mascarpone-cream for dessert. Giulia had texted Kol for a selection of wedding-appropriate cocktails for a couple who loved white-wine, rosé and bourbon, which could be prepared beforehand. She had a list of Jenna's favourite flowers; they had organised the food; they would use Jenna's iPod for music; they weren't going to send out invitations because anyone they wanted to attend would drop everything to spend a couple hours to watch them get married.

Ric had been married before, done the long-engagement and lagging preparation thing, and he and Jenna wanted to be married yesterday. After the semester ended, and summer vacation started, Ric and Jenna would go on a honeymoon. But they wanted to get married just before sunset on Saturday, and Giulia called Damon as she drove home, for two reasons: to let him know he, Stefan and Rose had to start getting the house ready for a ceremony and reception in the gardens; and to ask him to use his miles (and compulsion) to book Ric and Jenna into an amazing suite at a gorgeous hotel in Richmond for their wedding-night as a surprise.

She was giddy when she tripped through the front-door; Elijah glanced up from the piano and arched an eyebrow at her grin.

"You look happy," he smiled.

"Ric and Jenna are getting married – this weekend!" she grinned. Elijah blinked, looking highly surprised. His expression softened, warmed.

"How wonderful," he said, smiling, and Giulia grinned as she strode over to him, grabbing him for a kiss.

"I'm so excited!" she grinned. "I – I have so much to do, and it's for a good thing! Jenna asked me to be a maid's-bride. I've never been one before!"

Elijah chuckled.

"I think you mean a bridesmaid," he smiled warmly. "And why wouldn't she? You two are very close."

"Would you be my date?" Giulia asked, beaming at him. He chuckled, leaning up to give her a kiss.

"Of course," he said softly.

"There's…something else," Giulia said, not knowing how he would react.

"What?"

"Jeremy…wants to invite Ashlyn. As his date," Giulia said. "I had to explain…about the situation. You not wanting her involved."

"She should be there," Elijah said softly, after a moment's consideration. "Jeremy Gilbert thinks enough of her that he wants her there for his aunt's wedding. Of course she shouldn't miss out; he shouldn't be disappointed." Giulia beamed, leaning down to give him a lingering kiss.

"I…also called Chocolat. Jenna's…never been married before, this is – a huge deal!" she laughed, so excited. "I want to treat Jenna. She deserves to have the wedding…the dress…she's always wanted."

"You called Chocolat," Elijah smiled. "Oh dear. They'll be descending en masse at the excuse to come to town, you realise that?"

"Well, as long as they're on their best wedding behaviour," Giulia smirked, and Elijah laughed.

"Be careful what you wish for," he chuckled. "I could tell you stories…"

"Please do," Giulia grinned.

"They're really getting married this weekend?" Elijah asked. Giulia nodded.

"I've offered the Boarding House for the ceremony and reception," she said, smiling. "Jenna wants Meredith to marry them; Elena and I are bridesmaids, Jeremy will give Jenna away. Damon is best-man! As a surprise I've asked Damon to book a spectacular suite at an amazing hotel in Richmond, just for their wedding-night, and I've ordered a limousine to take them. We know what the food is going to be, the music – they're working on their first-dance song. I may recruit the earth-goddess Sheila to help make the gardens their prettiest. This is so…wonderful."

"It is," Elijah agreed, smiling gently. She gazed at him, beaming, and bit her lip shyly; he leaned in, giving her a tender kiss. Happy, they staggered to bed, kissing, stripping each other's clothes, and Giulia was still grinning when she curled up in his arms later, still giddy, still happy.

Jenna and Ric's wedding was an amazing thing to be able to look forward to.


"Okay, so can we talk about Elijah?" Caroline blurted, inhaling and sneezing, twitching. "God, this place smells."

"It's a flower-market, Caroline," Giulia laughed, "it's supposed to smell." She had piled into an immaculate Caroline's car before dawn with a giddy Jenna and a groggy Elena, to get to Richmond to the flower-market when it opened. They had a list of Jenna's favourite flowers and the hues Jenna wanted to incorporate into her wedding – pale peach, blush, frosted sage-green, flecks of sunflower-yellow, rose-gold – and were wandering around the vendors hawking their fresh flowers. Elena traipsed behind, a huge thundercloud darkening her face, looking like she wanted to be anywhere but here, sighing and bringing the mood down, fluttering her eyelashes and pouting for attention, like she wanted someone to ask her what was wrong. Giulia refused; Caroline caught her eye, and they silently agreed to ignore whatever was on Elena's mind; today was about Jenna. "Where's Jenna disappeared to?"

"She's over there, doing battle for roses. And don't try to distract me! Elijah! Spill!" Caroline ordered, glaring from buckets of Queen Anne's lace. Giulia shrugged, not knowing what to say, and gasped, homing in on dahlias the size of dinner-plates, the perfect hue of cream with a delicate peach blush. Caroline beamed. "They're so pretty! And they match the colour-swatch almost exactly. You really know the guy who sent Jenna those sketches for a dress?"

"I do," Giulia smiled. After a half-hour phone-conversation with Jenna, Chocolat had sent her a half-dozen 'rough' sketches of some ideas for her wedding-gown: she had fallen instantly in love with the third sketch, and from there they rest of the details had fallen into place. "I told Jenna not to even think about money, and pick something spectacular."

"That's really sweet of you," Caroline smiled warmly, as Elena sighed heavily. Every time she did that, it grated Giulia's nerves, like someone crunching potato-chips in a quiet room. "To pay for her perfect dress."

"Well, she's been there for me in a lot of ways, recently," Giulia said quietly. "And Ric's right; it's not Jenna's fault he's been married before and had the fairytale-wedding. Jenna deserves to have the perfect day."

"I know," Caroline smiled. Giulia turned to the vendor, asking how long the dahlias would last if kept in the cool and dark, explaining the situation, and Jenna came over, gasping, eyes zooming to them, sighing admiringly over the flowers. Instead of flowers on the tables, Jenna wanted lanterns and candles, and Giulia had shown her around the gardens at the Boarding House; she wanted to get married under the blooming honeysuckle arbour in one of the walled gardens with a larger lawn. Stefan and Damon had been set to work with Jeremy and Tyler – and by extension Matt, whom Tyler hadn't let out of his sight – stringing up white lights, hanging lanterns in the trees; so far there hadn't been casualties to boy or branch.

"Please tell me about Elijah!" Caroline blurted, huffing exasperatedly. "I need you to distract me, okay; I can't keep thinking about Matt or my head's gonna explode!"

"Are we talking about the fox?" Jenna asked, grinning, glancing over her shoulder; she was looking at some beautiful peach peonies called 'Coral Sunset', still closed.

"Who?" Giulia grinned.

"Elijah!" Jenna laughed. "I wanna hear this, too."

"It's…really not anything worth talking about," Giulia said quietly. As giddy as she was that Jenna and Ric were getting married, and she had been asked to be a bridesmaid, it was probably…the last lovely thing she would get to enjoy with Elijah. Days after their wedding was the full-moon; Giulia knew that so long as Elijah honoured his vow to her, they wouldn't see each other again, not for possibly a very long time.

It was something they both had to reconcile themselves to; but it was their choice. It was for the good of a lot of people involved.

"He's important to you," Jenna smiled. "I mean, don't you want to gush about him sometimes? You know? And tell us about all the swoon-worthy things he does for you? Like, what's the best date you've ever been on; what's he like when he's with you?"

"Yeah, does he ever not wear a suit?" Caroline asked, giggling. "I mean, he pulls them off better than anybody I've ever seen—"

"True – he's like the Victoria's Secret model equivalent for menswear," Jenna laughed, her eyes twinkling, and Caroline nodded eagerly.

"That charcoal-purple shirt he wore the other night? The cut, his shoulders, those arms!" Caroline grinned, not seeing the appalled stare Elena gave her. But Giulia saw it. "He was even doing the dishes in an Armani suit!"

"It was Ermengildo Zegna, actually," Giulia smirked, chuckling to herself. He either wore men's haute couture, or he wore nothing.

"Kinda weird, isn't it?" Elena asked heavily. They glanced at her, Giulia taking a deep breath and sighing, knowing what was coming. "I mean, the fact that he's like a jillion years old."

"It doesn't seem to bother you that Stefan is a hundred and sixty-three years old," Giulia said softly, catching Caroline's eye. "But then, he looks seventeen, not thirty-five."

"And how about the fact that he's tried to kill me a couple times?" Elena asked, glaring at her. Giulia sighed heavily.

"We met a long time before anyone knew about you," Giulia said gently. "It's not about you."

"How can it not be about me?" Elena blurted indignantly. "This creepy guy shows up after I'm kidnapped and you've been shacking up with him? He tried to kidnap me."

"How do you think I found out where you were?" Giulia snapped, glaring at her. "Hm? I sent Damon and Stefan the address to that house – who do you think told me where you were? That was Elijah."

"He killed one of those vampires who came to get me," Elena pointed out, as if she wasn't sleeping with a vampire who had literally ripped a woman to pieces, he had fed so hard on her. Giulia had never seen Elijah drink blood, it just…wasn't even worth mentioning; like a diabetic with insulin, he managed his condition because he had to. It wasn't the sum total of who he was, it did not define him or his life, his choices. He was who he was; he was Elijah. He just had to drink blood sometimes.

"And I killed the other two," Giulia said glacially, making Elena recoil, flushed at the anger in Giulia's tone. Of all of them, Giulia alone had staked vampires – had gone into a vampires' nest, hunted werewolves, endured torture, outsmarted Katerina and made sure Isobel couldn't be used to pour gasoline on the fire: She alone had killed vampires, werewolves. Caroline had killed one guy. Tyler had accidentally killed Sarah. But Giulia…twenty-five vampires in the tomb; more in the farmhouse; two werewolves; two vampires at Slater's. She had lost count. And they forgot.

"So you've been seeing Elijah for a while, so it has nothing to do with me," Elena cried, angry. "He's here, he wants to kill me in a fiery sacrifice."

"Guys…" Jenna said gently, glancing between them. Caroline was watching carefully, her eyes widening the longer they kept hissing at each other.

Giulia sighed, aggravated. Again with the effing sacrifice. "Elena – you know I've made sure you'll survive, stop bitching about it!" she snapped, and Elena blanched. Giulia rarely swore.

"And what about that dinner the other night, did you even think how I'd feel when I saw him at the dinner-table?" Elena asked.

"I didn't invite you," Giulia said clearly, and Elena flushed, lowering her eyes. She said honestly, "I didn't want you there."

"Why not? So you could torture John without me finding out; you know I'd never allow that to happen," Elena hissed. Giulia laughed, stunned.

"Would you rather he have remained under Klaus' compulsion, being used to hurt you? Spying on you, on all of us, not even aware he's doing it, unable to stop?"

Elena smirked, her defence when she knew she was in the wrong, saying tartly, "I'm just saying, I mean, you put Stefan and Damon in a lot of danger, inviting Elijah into their house–"

"It's my house, it was my home, until my dad was murdered because he tried to help Stefan protect you from Damon," Giulia snapped, glaring. "You think I want you wandering around my house, a constant reminder that you're the reason my dad's not there?" Caroline and Jenna shared a look as the colour leached from Elena's face, her eyes filling with tears, which only annoyed Giulia more; Caroline took Jenna's hand, and frog-marched Jenna toward another vendor, leaving them to it. Giulia watched them go, stony-faced.

She took a deep breath, hands in her jacket-pockets, stifling her embarrassment that they had been forced to flee. This wasn't supposed to be about them, about Elena – what gave her the right to bitch about Elijah, Giulia's relationship, to sour things? She kept her eyes on Jenna and Caroline's retreating backs as Elena glowered at her, pouting.

"We were having a nice conversation just now," Giulia said softly, her eyes lancing to Elena. "But you had to ruin it, you had to make it about you, you had to be a little bitch. This was supposed to be about Jenna. About us helping her pick out her flowers for her wedding. She gave up her whole life for you and for Jeremy. You've been a miserable cow all morning. You couldn't even be bothered to be home the one evening Jenna asked you to be there; you missed Jenna and Ric telling us they're getting married… But I guess Jenna's used to it." Giulia sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know how you can take your family for granted as often as you do."

"Tell me how you really feel," Elena said snarkily, looking insulted, hollow-cheeked. The level of her irritation over Elena's wheedling was almost irrational; something about her just pushed Giulia's buttons, she couldn't stand how much Elena got away with, how she treated people – how she took it for granted that she had people like Jeremy, like Jenna. Giulia loathed her complete lack of accountability; she took responsibility for nothing, and saw no flaws in herself but always they were irredeemable in other people, they became the entirety of who that person was.

"You've challenged me to do that before; and I always will," Giulia said cold and very gentle. "Everything does not revolve around you and your feelings… I don't care about the sacrifice; I made sure you'd survive because we used to be friends, and I owe it to Jeremy, and to Jenna, to do everything in my power to help you, because I love them. But I don't think you're good for Stefan, and I hate that you're not doing anything to stop yourself being a wedge between him and Damon when they could really make something of their bond after hating each other so long. I think Damon deserves better than the way you treat him. I think Jeremy deserves a better sister; and Jenna…Jenna deserves the whole world for sacrificing what she has to keep you in the lifestyle you were raised to expect. You'll survive the sacrifice; they all will. But it's time you grow up. Because people are gonna get bored of looking after you." Elena looked angry, upset, but angry, sniffling, glaring up at Giulia through her lashes; Giulia doubted anything she said would make an impression.

She sniffed softly, hooked her hair behind her ear, and frowned uninterestedly at Elena, taking in her weak chin, her quivering nostrils, the clench of her jaw, her lips pouting. She pulled a Kleenex out of the little packet in her purse.

"When you get home, you're going to go into your jewellery box and you're going to find your mother's vintage charm-bracelet she always wore, you're going to wrap it up in the teal-blue tissue-paper in the dresser in your living-room, and on Saturday, before she has her makeup done, you're going to give it to Jenna as her 'something borrowed'," Giulia said quietly. "Because Miranda should be here." She handed Elena the Kleenex. "Now you're going to wipe your face; this is all for Jenna. You're going to smile, and be happy, because this is a wonderful thing for her. Wipe your face. And stop being a bitch about Elijah; you have no idea how hard his life has been... I'm going to go and find Jenna and Caroline; come join us when you've adjusted your attitude."

She hitched her purse higher up her shoulder, exhaled and shook her hands out, still irritated, as she made her way around the flower-market. She caught up with Jenna and Caroline, who glanced up and widened her eyes at Giulia tellingly before she could join them.

"Jenna…" she said softly, genuinely contrite she and Elena had argued, this morning of all times. She should have bitch-slapped her in the China Room the night she and Stefan had crashed her dinner… No, she should have addressed things months ago. "I'm am sorry, about…telling Elena off… This morning was supposed to be about you."

Jenna gave her a tremulous smile, her eyes glassy. "I know you have your issues with Elena… But I think this…her mood, picking on you…is more about her issues with me and Ric."

"What?" Giulia blurted, the very thought absurd. Jenna sniffled, and Caroline patted her shoulder gently, giving Giulia a solemn look.

"She's…just been so quiet and upset since we told her," Jenna said, trying not to start crying, obviously upset. "I keep thinking that it's the sacrifice, that it's all too much, but then I wonder if she's not okay with it, and – it's the only thing that has felt right, you know? One-hundred percent. If he asked me again now I'd still say yes in a heartbeat. Jeremy's thrilled, but… Elena, she just…smiles and leaves the room if we start talking about the wedding. Maybe she thinks we shouldn't be doing it, not now, that it's too soon, or that I should be looking after her and Jeremy and worrying about the sacrifice and not picking out shoes…"

"It's not her decision," Giulia said earnestly, mortified that Jenna was so upset, had these worries – that Elena's behaviour had her second-guessing herself. "This is about you and Alaric."

"And Elena's gonna be off at college in a couple years, anyway, you know?" Caroline said gently. "You're gonna waste two years? With everything that's going on? I…I think it's amazing that you two are doing this, you know, just grabbing life with both hands. I think it's brave. And she should be ashamed she's making you this upset about something so amazing."

Giulia was surprised Caroline had said it; but it was honest, it was gentle, it was the right thing to say, and Giulia looked at her suddenly adult best-friend. The Mean Girl in Caroline had died a death the night she transformed into a vampire; in front of her stood a devoted, earnest friend, an amazing young-woman who was driven, hard-working and caring, wise. It made Giulia's skin crawl at the immaturity Elena somehow drew out of her; she didn't like or understand how she got Giulia so riled up, pushed her buttons. She could forgive Elena for being spoiled, taking no responsibility for anything; she had been raised by two wonderful parents who had done everything for her. Of course she would expect others to look after her. But Giulia couldn't forgive her for upsetting Jenna.

Jenna sniffed, sighed shakily, and wiped her eyes, smiling.

"You know we won't let you get cold feet about this," Giulia said softly. "This is your future. You and Ric are too happy together; and you deserve each other. That's rare."

"Yeah, and we've already ordered the cake and hired the tables and crockery, so…" Caroline said, and Jenna laughed, wiping her eyes.

"Thanks, girls," she said, her eyes bright. She glanced at Giulia, uncomfortable and ashamed of bitching out Elena – not for saying what she had, but for saying it in front of Jenna, and this morning, of all places to have it out with her. "And what Elena said…all that stuff about Elijah… I want you to know that I don't hold it against him, all this sacrifice stuff; what he told me… Let's just say I'd be doing the same thing if I were in his shoes…"

"You… You're not upset that I'm…that we're together?" Giulia asked quietly. Jenna's opinion, she did value; she was down-to-earth and had her head on straight. She wasn't afraid to tell it like it was, and was feisty enough not to back down in an argument, especially when she was right. The old saying was, sometimes it was better to be kind than right. Too often in Elena's life, people had been kind. She needed someone to be right for once – and to hear it.

Jenna sighed heavily, observing Giulia's face. "Over the last…nine months…I have seen you at your worst. When you were struggling, and you had no-one, and you didn't know what to do with yourself, and I wasn't your parent. I'm not your guardian; I could only be your friend," Jenna said, her lips trembling, her eyes sparkling. "All I could do was be there, and listen to Jeremy when he was upset because you were struggling so badly and he didn't know how to help you, because you didn't know what you needed. But you know what…I saw you getting better. I could see it, every day, you started doing things for you, you started…being happy, you started making all these amazing decisions for yourself, about your future… You've come out of your shell and you've transformed… And that was when Elijah appeared in your life. I didn't know it, then. But…it was. So if he makes you happy, if he's part of the reason you, as yourself, this amazing, unselfish, vibrant person in front of me, if he's part of the reason you're like you are now… Then I think he must be pretty extraordinary. He'd have to be, for you to love him; you'd get bored too easily otherwise." Caroline and Giulia both laughed, as Jenna smiled and sniffed, wiping tears from her chin.

"You really think that?" Giulia whispered.

"I do. And I would never discourage you from…from experiencing love, not the way I can see it so obviously between you…" Jenna beamed tearfully at her. "I could see it, the night of your dinner; you have this tremendous mutual respect. He's as infatuated with you as you are him. And he appreciates just how privileged he is to have you in his life…because you're pretty spectacular, Giulia."

Giulia's lips trembled, her eyes burning, and she mumbled, "Now you're making me feel really bad about bitching out Elena."

"You two are just too different," Jenna said softly. "It's okay that you're not friends anymore."

"I don't want it to make anything awkward," Giulia said earnestly, glancing up. "I don't want to upset you because we can't see eye-to-eye."

"You won't," Jenna smiled.

"And don't worry; I'll talk to Elena," Caroline said, with a determined look on her face. Giulia grimaced guiltily; she felt bad, for her devolution. She couldn't understand why she had let Elena get to her; that she had snapped, and behaved so immaturely. She had seen Elena moping, glaring at them behind their backs, pouting, building herself up to pick an argument. Giulia hoped Elena's mood had everything to do with her and Elijah, and not with Jenna getting married; she didn't want such an amazing thing being ruined by one little brat.

Caroline's car wouldn't stop smelling like fresh cut flowers for weeks. Jenna had a morning class, but Giulia had a free day, so while they dropped Jenna off at campus, Giulia dashed off to hand in an assignment while Caroline bought coffees for them and Elena pouted in the car; Giulia suspected Caroline had had a word by the time she got back, thesis handed in, bound and ready for grading. The entire car smelled like a bottle of perfume; dahlias of all sizes and different pink, blush and red hues, white Oriental anemones, unopened white, blood-red and coral peonies, ranunculus in golden, orange and coral-pink hues, different kinds of roses in blush and very soft fuchsia, fluffy white chrysanthemums, proteas, white sweet-peas and lots of greenery in romantic hues like eggplant and frosted sage, glossy forest-greens and spring-green berries, eucalyptus and delicate, feathery ferns. All bundled into brown-paper and piled high in the trunk, in the spare seats, in their laps.

Rose, who had experience with floristry, had offered to put together the bouquets and arrangements, and it was perfect for them; the girls carried the flowers down into the basement in buckets, keeping them watered and in the cool to prevent them from opening and wilting too soon. Caroline and Elena had to get to school, but Giulia stayed at the Boarding House to get a head-start on the food: Ric had ordered barbecue in from the best place in town – also, ironically, the cheapest – and they would deliver the cooked food hot on the day. She'd bought a crate of peaches and spent the morning preparing them. The bedrooms having been cleaned and the sheets changed for the arrival of Ric's parents on Friday evening, Rose put Damon to work tidying the gardens. There wasn't much to do; ever since Elijah had given her the daylight-ring, Rose had taken trowel in hand and spent most of her time in the blazing sun in the walled-gardens. Giulia didn't think the novelty would wear off for centuries. And Giulia was more than happy to let Rose earn her keep at the Boarding House by acting as unofficial gardener. She put in more hard-work in one afternoon than Mrs Lockwood's team of contracted landscapers did in a week.

It was lucky Giulia and Caroline had spent so much of their high-school career working with local councils and societies, junior-representatives on committees and all of that; when they needed to, they knew who to contact to hire tables, linens, cutlery and crockery, even table decorations, the huge tent and a beautiful dance-floor to go inside it, around which the tables would be arranged, the pop-up bar where six Jenna and Ric-themed cocktails, made using Kol's recipes, were going to be provided, with champagne at Damon's expense and homemade lemonade and sodas for the underage guests. Jenna had thought to order cute little vanilla cupcakes for those guests who were fussy and didn't like the peaches, but it was their day: advice from her friends, from Liz and Carol and Meredith, convinced Jenna to stop worrying about what other people would like.

It was about her and Ric.

And everyone else had to pull together, set differences aside, and do everything they could to make sure their day was perfect.


A.N.: Everyone has that one person who bugs the hell out of them, don't they? I can see Elena being a brat because she doesn't know how to handle feeling guilty about not being there the night Jenna and Ric wanted to announce they were getting married, and then pouting because Giulia and Caroline start helping Jenna with everything and she always lets other people to everything for her… I really don't like her!