The floorboards squeaked from above her and she turned to head for the stairs when she came face to face with at first appearance looked to be Elena but she had a feeling that wasn't the case.

"Hi, we haven't been formally introduced. I'm Katherine."

Alyssa takes a small step back.

Katherine see's this and is pleased. "I see you've heard of me."

"Spoiled, manipulative bitch," she takes two steps with every word, "who also happens to look like my sister. Wish I could say I hadn't or nor did I wish I ever would. You really should have stayed dead. "

"And I would have if Damon wasn't so obsessed with me." She says with a roll of her eyes like both him and his affection for her was an inconvenience for her which only made Alyssa hate her more.

"I think you mean was."

"Why?" She chuckles with humor, "Because he's in love with you. No, wait," her facial expression sadness, "I forgot, Elena, is the one Damon's in love with."

"Just like Stefan?" She fires back with a smile. "Really Katherine, a women your age should be able to accept defeat with grace. But of course if I'd got dumped for a knock off version of myself, I'd be a little sore too. But then again, nobody really be quite pathetic as you. You know having to compel him and all. It really isn't becoming."

She rushes her pinning her against the wall. The front door opens and she's violent torn away landing on the other side of the room and back on her feet before Alyssa even got a chance to hit the ground.

Stefan stands in between her and Katherine and looks back to check on her, "you okay?"

She nods and stands, "yeah. We were just having a little girl chat. But I guess she didn't like hearing what I had to say. The truth can hurt can't it Kat."

Stefan looks at hoping to convey to her that she needs to stop talking advice she knew she was wise to heed.

"What do you want Katherine?" Stefan asks for the second time in a matter of hours but didn't expect to get a straight answer out of her.

"I came to see you." Her persona switches from one of anger to one of a girl in love. "I was hoping to say goodbye to you too."

"What do you mean too?" Alyssa knew that it implies that she had stopped by to see someone earlier and that only other person was Damon. She couldn't help but to feel a hint of protectiveness. She knew it was in her voice and all over her face.

Katherine looks over Stefan shoulder at her suspecting she already knew the answer to that but answers any way to see if she illicit the response she thinks she will. "I saw Damon earlier." She says casually. "To tell him I was leaving town. And we'll things took a little turn and he got all serious and I had to tell him the truth. That I was never in love with him. I've only ever loved Stefan."

The anger that swelled up inside of her was indescribable but more than that was concern. She could only imagine what it felt like to hear those words after 145 years and she didn't know what mind frame he would be on but she knew it wouldn't be good.

When she looks over at Stefan, she can tell he was just as concerned as she was and that we're thinking the same thing as he looks back at her. He nods and she takes one last look at Katherine before taking off.

She knew it would be pointless for her to call cause he wouldn't answer. She drove around looking for him anywhere he could a drink. When he didn't see him in any of those places she realized she had to change tactics and there's was only one other place she thought he could be.

"Yeah, I just walked up. I'm not sure if he's inside but after all the bars this is the only place he could be." She opens the door to her house and walks in.

"Damon! NO!" She hears the shrill cries of her sister and rushes upstairs.

"Elena!" She comes to an abrupt stop outside her room to see her kneeling over Jeremy crying. She runs to her siblings side dropping the phone in the process kneeling beside them. She looks back and Damon with a look of hurt and betrayal. She turns back to Jeremy after Damon's gone catching a glimpse of the gaudy looking ring on his finger.

She points it out to her sister, "Elena," and they both realize that he isn't permanently dead. The ring was going to be him back. "Stefan," she picks up her phone realizes that he was still on the line but when she picks up the phone the line is dead. "He must have heard which meant that he was on his way over."

She kneels beside them "Could Damon have saw the ring?"

"No. He couldn't have known he was wearing it."

"It's Katherine. She got under his skin. She undid everything that was good about him."

"There's nothing good about him, not anymore. He's decided what he wants. He doesn't want to feel, he wants to be hated, it's just easier that way. He got his wish."

She looks up when she sees Stefan walks in.

"I hate him." Elena cries.

Alyssa turns to Stefan for the comfort of her sister and he kneels down beside her taking Alyssa's place next to her sister and kisses her on the shoulder. Jeremy suddenly wakes up gasping and Alyssa rejoins the three of them on the floor. Stefan takes his face and looks in his eyes.

"Is he okay? Stefan, is he okay?" Elena asks growing impatient.

"He's okay. Shhh," Stefan places his hands on his face taking a close look at his eyes, "you're okay."

"He killed me! Damon killed me!"

Elena embraces him and smiles. "It's okay. Oh God."

Alyssa watches on with relief.

"Elena's in with Jeremy now." Stefan goes to Alyssa's room to check in with her.

She turns to him after turning down on the sheets on her bed. She crosses her arm. "Are you sure he's going to be okay?"

"Are you?"

She sits on the edge of bed resting her foot on the frame of the bed. "I knew Katherine brought out the worse in him but I never seen him like this. Elena says she doesn't think he saw the ring. I have to believe he did."

"Because you want to believe in him."

"Because I don't want to think that I'm wrong about him, that what I feel is wrong. After my parent's and Vicki, I need something to hold on to. Does that make me crazy?"

"No. It makes you human."

"So what does that makes you?"

Elena joins them stopping next to Stefan. "Jeremy's sleep." She looks to Stefan. "You mind if we have a minute."

"Sure," he leaves to give them some privacy and Elena shuts the door.

Stefan makes his way to Elena's room but stops when he hears a noise coming from downstairs and goes to check it out.

Elena was shutting the door to the fridge and he stops and look at wondering how she was down there when he just left her upstairs.

"I was just bringing Jeremy a glass of water." She realizes the look on his face wasn't question but confusing and she walks over to him seeing that he was concern. "Stefan."

It dawns on him that it wasn't Elena he saw but Katherine and rushes speed runs upstairs.

"Stefan!" Elena calls as she runs after him and Stefan bursts inside of Alyssa room to see her tucked in bed.

"Stefan."

He turns to her blocking her view by standing in front of her. "It's okay. I thought I heard something but it's fine."

He looks over Stefan shoulder and sees the same thing Stefan did, Alyssa asleep tucked soundly in bed.

"She's asleep."

Elena believes him and slowly backs out of the room and walks into Elena's.

She sighs and falls into his and he wraps them around her. "It's late," he kisses the top of her head, "why don't you get some sleep." He kisses her forehead. "I'll call you in the morning." He heads out but doubles back to Alyssa's room and waits. Things like this usually varies and he didn't know how long it would take her to wake up, but he knew when she did she wasn't going to need someone to help her through the transition; whatever she decides to do.

He starts to pace as the second turns to minutes and the minutes to hours and by the third he began to see some signs that she was being to stir and the fifth minute of the third hour she was up frantically looking around and he came to sit in front of her to calm her checking her eyes as he has done too many times before in the last forty eight hours.

What he saw in them confirmed what he already suspected and she knew it too.

"I'm transition aren't I?" She too had seen him do this exact thing too many times in the last year twice with her brother and once with Vicki but then she didn't know what it was he was doing. "Katherine killed me."

The look of sympathy he gave her prove what she already suspected. She died with vampire blood in her system and unlike Jeremy she didn't have a magical ring to protect her. "I don't think she knew about you having vampire blood in your system."

She looks at him like she couldn't believe the ways that just came out of his mouth. "Does that really matter Stefan, I'm dead! Katherine killed me!" She angrily gets off the bed and he turns and faces her. "My only two options are turn or die. I don't get to see my family again or hang out with my friends. But if I turn, I get to watch everyone I love start a family, grow old, and eventually die and I'm stuck like this. Stefan I can go through 145 years of losing people." He walks over to her. "The thought of never seeing my parent's again." She wasn't really a religious person as she said but she did take comfort in knowing that.

"Hey, it's your choice." He wasn't going to convince her to change her mind. He wasn't going to force anyone to making a decision like that ever again. He made that mistake once and he wasn't going to make the same mistake.

She looks him soft eyes. "Don't tell Elena." She pleads. She couldn't face seeing the look on her face when she finds out what happened and the choice she made. "Please. I know I have no right to ask but if I'm going to do this...If I'm going to die. I want my last day to be as normal as possible. I want to hangout with Jeremy and be a pain in the butt little sister to Elena. I wanted laugh with Matt and even feel the guilt of not hating Damon as much as I know I should. It's what I want."

He has some reservation about it but agrees.