EIGHT

I waited in the parking lot Wednesday afternoon, leaning on the car I had given Jeremy last year. When he saw me, his face lit up. "What are you doing here?"

"I stopped by to give you your present."

"Graduation is tomorrow," he said, a little confused.

I smiled as I hugged him lightly. "I didn't want to wait. Come on," I urged and waited until he unlocked the car. "Drive to Bonnie's."

"Why?"

"That's where your present is. Sort of," I answered as I slid into the passenger seat.

He only nodded, choosing to go with it as he drove to Bonnie's house. She was waiting on the patio and when she saw the car, she came down and got into the back. "I thought you said it was at her house."

"Well, Bonnie was at her house and the present requires Bonnie."

He stared at me. "No offense, but I don't want something of magick origin."

Bonnie and I exchanged glances and smiled. She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. "Trust me Jere, this is one that you want."

He sighed. "Where am I driving to now?"

I didn't know the answer to that so I let Bonnie give the driving instructions. We were about to cross the Mystic Falls city limits when she told Jeremy to take a left and I felt a little uneasy as I realized where she was going. Sure enough, we pulled up in front of the old church where we thought Stefan had been killed in a cave-in in the catacombs. "Does it have to be this place?"

"It's a magick hotspot. One I was sure we wouldn't be interrupted," she and smiled apologetically at me as we got out.

"Ten bucks says we do," I teased.

"Deal."

Jeremy was stunned by the impressive sight of the church even in its current state of decay. "How come no one told me this was here?"

"It's a party spot for the hardcore kids," Bonnie explained before sitting on the grass somewhere between the car and the church.

"I was one of those kids."

"Apparently you weren't hardcore enough," I said and smiled lightly at him as we both sat in a triangle to face Bonnie. "Alright, what do we have to do?"

"Did you bring what I asked?"

I unhooked my locket and handed it to her. "It was the only thing I could find," I said in a light voice.

"Elena, will you tell me what's going on?"

Jeremy's eyes were following my every move as I handed Bonnie the locket and then watched her pull her spell book from her tote bag. "I didn't know what to get you and yesterday I went to see...I went to the graveyard." I was having trouble calling them my parents out loud. I cleared my throat and continued. "If I hadn't been at that party, they would be here for your graduation. So Bonnie is going to do the next best thing and let us communicate with them for a few minutes. Just to say goodbye."

His eyes went wide and I could see them beginning to cloud with tears. Almost instantly my vision became blurry with unshed tears. "Is it dangerous?"

I laughed at his unexpected question and shook my head. "As long as you envision your parents and not mine."

"They're your parents too."

"No, they're not. Not to be mean, but if you don't want to be Isobel, you better think of them as your parents," Bonnie said in a somewhat harsh voice just to convey the importance to him. He nodded and from the look on his face, the got the message loud and clear. She finished setting up and then put out her hands for each of us to grab. "Alright, I'm going to start the spell and you two focus on them and their relationship to you. I'm not going to be able to hear or see anything once I start the spell and I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep the connection so don't get mad if I cut you off mid sentence."

We took her hands and I grabbed Jeremy's other hand, immediately getting images of him and Anna that I did not want. I yanked my hand back and wiped it on my jeans as a force of habit. "You need to focus on them, not Anna."

He grinned. "Sorry. I forget you can read minds."

"I know," I said and grabbed his hand again.

"Nobody say a word until you see them and don't let go of anyone's hands because that will sever the connection immediately."

Jeremy and I nodded as she started chanting. The air shifted all around us and the light became brighter as well. Jeremy and I focused our eyes at the center of the triangle we made and just when bright light began to burn, their faces appeared illuminated in a vibrant gold light. "Mom? Dad?" Jeremy's voice was small, almost like a child in disbelief.

"Hello Jeremy," they both said in unison. Their voices had a strange echo-like effect. "Hello Elena."

The fact that they were speaking in unison was hard enough to get used to. "Hi," I said and smiled even though a tear of guilt ran down my cheek.

"You look so beautiful," she said and her eyes flickered to Jeremy. "You've grown up into such a strong young man."

"I miss you," Jeremy said as tears ran down his face. "I wish you could be there tomorrow."

"So do we," he said and they both beamed at us.

Bonnie's voice had faded to the background but I could feel her strength wavering already. "We don't have much time. We just wanted to say goodbye since we didn't get to," I said in a tight voice, trying not to sob.

Her smile was warm, "Elena, it was not your fault. Our time came and we had to go. If anyone should feel guilty, it's us for not telling you about the adoption."

I nodded and felt a few more tears glide down my face and land on my lap. Bonnie was getting weaker by the second. "I love you and I can't tell you how much I miss you," I breathed, my gaze fixed on them.

The golden light was getting duller and Jeremy said his last goodbyes and just like that, they were gone. Jeremy and I let go of each other's hands almost instantly and I grabbed Bonnie before she sagged to the ground. I laid her down gently and wiped tears from my face. Jeremy was doing the same thing and I moved to hug him. "Thank you Elena. That was the best present anyone could have ever hoped for." He nodded to Bonnie. "I'll thank her when she wakes up. She going to be okay?"

"It took a lot more energy then she realized, but she'll be alright. Want to drop us off at the boarding house?" He nodded as I gathered Bonnie effortlessly in my arms and he grabbed her things before following me to the car.

"I wish I was that strong," he said once we were on our way.

"Eat your meat and you will be."

"That's not what I meant," he said in a serious tone.

"I know," I replied and looked out the window.

When we pulled up to the house, Jeremy took Bonnie's things to the formal living room while I placed her in the guest room upstairs. There was no sign of either Salvatore and that worried me a little. I came back downstairs to see Jeremy looking uncomfortable. "I don't know if anyone told you, but I'm not going to the Grill tomorrow for the party."

"Why not?"

"One, I don't want a repeat of last year. Two, I think it would be best not to have six vampires around that many people don't you? Especially since two of them can't be in the same room together."

I snorted. "Tell me about it. What are you going to do?"

"Alaric and Jenna said we could have a party there. It'll be them, Uncle John, Harper, Pearl, Anna, you, Damon, Matt, Tyler, Stefan, Bonnie, and Caroline if she's back."

"Those are all my friends."

"They're the only people I like. Caroline doesn't know right?" I asked, just to be sure.

He shook his head. "No, she's a little upset when she does come back, but from what Matt said, she still doesn't know."

I hugged him tightly. "Alright, then I will see you tomorrow. I'll call Jenna for details on the party."

"Thanks again Elena," he said and waved as I watched him get in the car and drive off.

I headed to the kitchen to get a glass of water for Bonnie so she would have it when she woke up. I checked my room to see it looking brand new, minus a desk, but still no sign of Damon. I knocked on Stefan's door. Nothing. I shrugged, figuring they were both off venting somewhere and decided to watch TV. The faces of my aunt and uncle were the last thing I saw against my closed lids before I drifted off to sleep from lack of other things to do around the house.

"You did what?" I snapped. My fists were balled at my sides and my fangs were out. I was angry, but the voice didn't belong to me. It belonged to Katherine.

"I turned Roarke for you."

"Why would you do that?" she whined.

"He cared for you. I thought it would make you happy."

Her jaw dropped and she spun to look at Klaus. She shook her head angrily, brunette locks moving from side to side wildly. "Did it ever occur to you that I wanted to turn to get away from him? He got me pregnant because he thought it would keep me at his side like a pet."

"You were married." Klaus' dark blue eyes were hard and emotionless.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "I don't see what that has to do with it. I did not want that life and I certainly don't want it now. He was a warlock. Do you have any idea what kind of power he has now that he's a vampire too?"

She tried to walk away, but he caught her wrist and kept her there. I could feel her struggling to get free and getting more and more angry when she couldn't. "Then I suggest you do not make him upset."

"For an Original, you're not that bright," she snapped and rubbed her wrist when he let go of her.

"I wouldn't insult me either if I were you."

"This is all a game to you isn't it?"

He smiled then, revealing half-extended canines. "You have been playing games of your own, have you not?"

"Yes, but-"

"I don't tell you what to do, you don't tell me."

She narrowed her eyes, but said nothing more about it. "What do you want Klaus? Or did you just track me down to deliver the good news?" she asked sarcastically.

"I came because it has been centuries since I last saw you. You're doing a fantastic job at living up to your promise of being cruel and bloodthirsty. However, I have noticed that you keep tracking down you bloodline. If you hated your daughter so much, then why are you following your descendents?"

A smile touched her lips as she looked at him with mock innocence. "I have my reasons." She ran a hand through her hair and I noticed the ring on her finger. I tried to focus her eyes on Klaus' hand and was astonished to see no ring at all. His lips moved, but I heard no words as the scene faded into nothing.

I sat upright on the couch and rubbed at my face to clear away the grogginess I felt. "Why is Bonnie in the guest room?" Damon asked, nearly scaring me half to death.

His brow rose as he noticed my surprise, but said nothing. "She passed out from the spell so I'm keeping her here until I know she's better. Have you checked on her?"

"No, that's Stefan's job."

Stefan was coming down the stairs at that point. "She woke up for a little bit, but then went to sleep again. She's exhausted, but she's okay."

I nodded as the image of Klaus' ringless hand burned into my brain. "Elena?" Damon said as he stepped closer to the couch.

"How long have these been in use?" I asked, holding up my hand and pointed to the ring with my other one.

They both exchanged glances and then shook their heads. "I don't know. Why?" Damon asked.

"Because, Klaus wasn't wearing one in the dream I just had and I would think that the Originals would wear them above others. Katherine had one, but he didn't." I thought for a moment about my previous dream. "Come to think about it, he didn't have one in the first dream either. What does that mean?" I asked. Somehow the thought of the most powerful of vampires sleeping underground while the sun was up sounded stupid.

"Maybe Isobel knew the answer to that," Damon suggested.

I nodded, "I'll ask Alaric about it Friday." I got up and looked at Stefan. "Thank you for looking after Bonnie."

"No problem."

I grabbed Damon's hands and led him upstairs. "Another dream?"

"Yes," I said and buried my head in his chest as we laid in the bed. "I'm getting sick of her dreams too. She's so whiny and full of herself. No wonder you liked her," I teased and he poked me in the side, knowing that it was one of my ticklish spots.

"How did the spell go?" he asked in a not-so-subtle way to change the subject.

"It was perfect. It was good to see them again. Jeremy was happy to have the chance to say goodbye and they apologized for not telling me about the adoption sooner. Which, I'm kind of glad for because the last thing I needed was to find out about Isobel before you came along."

He nodded in agreement, his hand absently running up and down my back. "Very true, but I wouldn't think about it too much. What's done is done." I sighed and closed my eyes, knowing he was right. It wasn't long before I was sleeping again.