Caroline was pacing in her house. "Calm down. It'll be fine." Maria told her.
"We don't know that." Caroline said. "For all we know, they could reject us."
"You need to think positive, Caroline. Trust me, they'll listen." Maria said. There was a knock at the door. Maria went over to answer it.
"Hi."
"Hey, is Caroline here?"
"Yeah, come in." The three of them sat down in the living room.
"So, what's so important that you had to tell me?" Matt asked.
"Matt, we're in trouble." Caroline said, getting right to the point.
"I assume you mean the others."
"It's not just them. They're targeting Elena, too." Maria told him. He looked at them.
"Look, I know you're mad at me." Caroline said. "Honestly, I wouldn't even blame you if you hated me, but we need your help, Matt."
"I understand why you lied, Care. I just don't know if I can…"
"Deal with it? Let me ask you something, Matt." Maria said. "Tyler's your best friend. Just because you found out he's a werewolf, does that mean you guys aren't friends anymore?" He just looked at her. "I know you're in shock, but the truth is, Care was helping him deal with all that."
"Okay, look, Care, I don't hate you, but I'm not sure about all this." Matt said.
"Matt, the fact is, all of your friends here are in trouble. The person who did this to Care is dangerous and she's vengeful." Maria explained. "And she's got some friends of her own."
"But I don't know how to fight." Matt told them.
"I was afraid of that." Caroline said.
"That's not going to be a problem." Maria said. "Jeremy and the others are training to take down Katherine and her friends. If you want to help, you can always join them. But if not, we're not going to force you to help us."
"Us? Are you…"
"I'm part vampire, part witch." Maria explained. "But I'm also a friend. I've only used my powers to help my friends, like Caroline and Elena."
"Yeah, I had a feeling you and Bonnie were closely connected. Guess that sort of explains it."
"So, are you with us or not?" Maria asked. "You don't have to decide right away." She got up and started to leave.
"Hold on." The girls looked at him. "I don't like this, but I'll help you."
"Matt…" Caroline began.
"Besides, I guess I've kinda been a jerk lately regarding everything about this stuff." Matt admitted.
"Hey, we've all been there." Caroline said.
"Still, I didn't want to upset you. Friends?"
"Of course." Caroline said. They embraced each other.
"Hate to ruin the moment, but do you know where the Sheriff's office is?" Maria asked.
At the department, Sheriff Forbes was walking down the hall. She paused, feeling like someone else was there, but shrugged it off. "Sheriff Forbes?" She turned around and saw Maria.
"Oh, Maria. What are you doing here?"
"I was wondering if I could talk with you." Maria told her. "In private." Liz thought it was strange, but she allowed it and led her into her office.
"So, what's going on?"
"I know you know about Caroline and her friends." Maria said.
"Wait, how do you know about…"
"That's not important." Maria said. "Look, I know you were brought up thinking they were all bad, but Caroline's not a bad person. She saved Matt's life once. She's even saved yours."
"What?"
"Oh, right. You don't remember that one."
"What about the others?"
"The Salvatores took me in when I had nowhere else to go." Maria told her. "They've done nothing but try to help protect this town."
"Why did you ask to meet with me?"
"Because I need your help, and so does Caroline." Maria said. "We have reason to believe that a group of vampires are headed to town."
"For what reason?"
"We believe that they're leader has a personal grudge against us." Maria said.
"Us?"
"Caroline, the Salvatores, Tyler Lockwood, Bonnie Bennett, and the Gilbert siblings." Maria explained. "And me."
"You? But you're…" Sheriff Forbes cut off as Maria's vampire side surfaced. "You're one of them" She went to get her gun, but found it missing. "Did you…"
"I really hate weapons." Maria said. "Look, I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to try and hurt me. I wouldn't do that to you."
"Okay, so why are you asking me for help? I mean, you know what I could do to you if it turns out you're lying."
"Because I know you're one of the good guys, Caroline's you're daughter, and this town could very well be in serious danger if you don't." Maria said. "I know you believe we're all bad, but we're not. If we all work together, I'm pretty sure we can drive them off. But you don't have to help us if you don't want to…"
"If Caroline knows something about this…"
"She's still afraid of what you might do to her." Maria said. "But I'm sure she'll explain everything to you at home once you tell her about this conversation."
"I don't know exactly what's going on here, but since you've made your case and my daughter could be in trouble, I'll take it into consideration." She told her.
"Thanks, Sheriff Forbes." Maria said. She left the office.
Outside, she found Damon waiting for her. "So I'm guessing she's not willing to help."
"She's a tough case, that's for sure." Maria said, rubbing her wrist. Damon noticed it looked a little red.
"What happened?"
"My bracelet happened." Maria said. "I accidentally dropped it in vervain-soaked water, but I didn't know it at the time. That's why I'm not wearing it today."
Caroline was at home when her mom walked in. "Hi."
"Is it true that there's a group of them headed to town?"
"Yes." Caroline said. "And I'm worried that the leader might come after me first."
"Why do you think that?"
"Well, she forced me to work for her after I turned and we kinda stabbed her in the back." Caroline explained. "Look, I know you don't like what I am, but my friends and I are in real trouble here."
"All this time I thought we were protecting you kids." Liz said. "It turns out, you guys were really protecting us."
"Are you with us or not, then?"
"It was never a choice. Nothing is going to hurt my daughter."
"Mom…" Caroline said.
At the Boarding House, Maria was just got off the phone. "Well, looks like she's on our side. And you thought it wouldn't work."
"In my defense, last time I saw her, she was giving me the death glare."
"You think that talk was easy?" Maria asked. "She probably would've shot me if I hadn't taken her weapon before our talk."
"How'd you…right, magic powers."
"Don't forget I could throw you across the room if I wanted to." Maria said.
"Hard to forget if you keep reminding me."
"Will you be serious? We could all be in trouble here." Maria said.
"I know that. I'm just not sure if we can…"
"We'll get through this. We all will." Maria said. "I'll make sure of that." She stepped out of the room and went into hers next door to his. She had a protection spell around the room to give her some privacy. She quickly dialed a number. "Hey, it's me. I need you to come to Mystic Falls right away."