A/N This was one of my favorite episodes to write just because of the humorous relationship between Alaric, Damon and Beth! I hope you guys like it!

"I say we go to Pearl's, bust down the door and annihilate that idiot that attacked us last night!" Damon was saying as he boarded up the window the two vampires had broken through last night. Elena and Stefan sat on the couch, watching him. I stood beside him, handing him nails when needed.

"Let's say we do that. Then what? We turn to the other dozen or so vampires, however many Pearl thinks counts as 'some' and say 'oops, sorry'?" I asked. He shot me a look. I just held up a nail for him. He took it.

"I can't believe you made a deal with her." Elena said.

"It was more like a helpful exchange of information. And it's not like I had a choice." He replied.

"Aww… Is she scary?" I teased.

"Yes. And besides, she's gonna help me get Katherine back."

"Of course she is. Damon gets what he wants, as usual. No matter who he hurts in the process!" Elena snapped.

"You don't have to be snarky about it!" Damon told her.

"I woke up this morning to learn that all the vampires have been released from the tomb. I've earned snarky!" She shot back.

"How long are you going to blame me for turning your birth mother into a vampire?" Damon asked.

"I'm not blaming you Damon… I've accepted the fact that you're a self serving psychopath with no redeeming qualities." I smirked.

"Would you like some vampire blood for that burn?" I asked him.

"This isn't being very productive. We're gonna figure out a way to deal with Pearl and the vampires. Yeah?" Stefan asked. Everyone nodded. He and Elena left the room. I turned back to Damon.

"I'm blaming you for something."

"What?"

"You snapped my neck."

"Sorry."

"You didn't mean that."

"The neck snapping or the apology for the neck snapping?"

"Apology."

"I did mean it. I'm sorry. I was cranky."

"You make people cranky."

"It's a gift. Hand me another nail, would ya?"

Later that day, I sat at Damon's feet, handing him tools as he fixed a clock. Stefan walked over.

"Beth, you want to come hunting?" He asked.

"No thanks… I don't have the heart to eat Bambi or Thumper today…" I told him, handing Damon a screwdriver.

"Who are you, Snow White?" Damon asked sarcastically. Then he looked over at Stefan instead.

"I've got two liters of soccer mom in the fridge. No?"

"We'll talk when I get back?" Stefan asked Damon.

"All right… Give my regards to the squirrels."

I woke up on the couch later, to Damon shaking me.

"What?" I demanded.

"Call Stefan."

"You call him." I rolled over to go back to sleep, but Damon shook me again and tossed my phone at me, nearly missing my head.

"He's not answering calls from me and he's been gone for hours." I sat up.

"What?"

"Call him." He repeated. I hit the first speed-dial to call him. It rang for a while, but no one answered.

"Again. Maybe we can annoy him into answering. I'm worried." Damon said.

"You're worried for Stefan?"

"Just call him. I'm calling Elena to see if he's with her." I called about a dozen more times before finally all my calls just went straight to voice-mail.

"Let's go." Damon took my arm and pulled me off the couch. We darted to Elena's house and paused on the porch. Damon called her on her phone, but she ignored it. I knocked on the door. Elena answered it and Damon stepped inside. I followed suit, looking around the living room for Stefan.

"You're ignoring me." Damon told her.

"The six missed calls? Sorry. My phone was dead." She told him sarcastically.

"Is Stefan here?" I asked her.

"No. Why? Is something wrong?"

"Would you count Stefan going into the woods and not coming back as wrong?" Damon asked, returning her sarcasm.

"He's not answering either of our calls. We thought and hoped he was here with you." I told her. She dialed his number on her 'dead' phone.

"It's going straight to voice-mail."

"Really? I didn't notice from the dozen times I'd tried!" I snapped, getting too anxious to be polite.

"Where could he be?" Elena asked. Damon sighed.

"You are not going to like what I'm thinking…" He muttered. Then he looked up at Elena again.

"Get in your car." He told her. She didn't hesitate. We drove outside the town and to where Pearl had said she was hiding out with the vampires.

"Stay here." Damon told Elena as we climbed out of the car. It was raining, so I pulled my hood up. We darted through the woods and to the house. Damon banged on the door with his fist.

"Pearl! Open this door! I'll burst through and rip your head off!" Damon yelled. The vampire that attacked us last night opened the door.

"Pearl's not home. Beautiful weather… Not a ray of sun in the sky…" He said.

"We're not here for talks of weather and tea. Where's our brother?" I demanded. The vampire turned around.

"Billy?" Two vampires dragged Stefan into the hallway so we could see him. He was weak and looked like he'd taken quite a beating.

"You're dead!" Damon and I said at the same time, for once on the exact same page. I tried to get into the house, but hit the barrier since I wasn't invited in. Damon caught me as I stumbled back.

"Whoa, I'm sorry. You haven't been invited in, have you? Miss Gibbons?" An old lady walked over to him.

"Never let these bad people in." He told her.

"I'll never let them in." She agreed. She was obviously under compulsion. The vampire turned back to us.

"A hundred and forty-five years left starving in a tomb… All thanks to Katherine's infatuation with the Salvatore Brothers. First few weeks, every single nerve in your body screams with fire. The kind of pain that can drive a person mad. Well… I thought your brother might want to get a taste of that before I killed him. Billy." 'Billy' the vampire stabbed Stefan in the stomach with a stake. I tried to get in again, though I knew I wouldn't be able to.

"You have a nice day." The vampire shut the door.

"I will get in here and I'll kill you!" I screamed.

"Beth, let's go." Damon grabbed my arm and pulled me off the porch. We hurried back to the car. Elena saw us and got out to meet us.

"What happened? Where is he?" She asked.

"They have him. We can't get in." I told her.

"Why not?"

"Because the woman in the house is compelled not to invite us in. Anymore stupid questions?" I snapped.

"I can get in there!" Elena said.

"You're not going in there!" Damon told her.

"I'm going in!" She protested.

"You're not going in there." He repeated.

"Why are they doing this?" She asked.

"Revenge. They want revenge!" I told her. Was that not completely and utterly obvious already?

"We gotta do something!" She said.

"You don't think that I thought of that when I saw them stab him, Elena? He's my brother! I don't want him in there and I know we have to do something!" I almost yelled at her.

"We can't let them hurt him! We gotta get him out of there!" Elena went on.

"Yeah, no crap Sherlock!" I snapped. For once, Damon was the nicer one.

"I know, Elena, I know. But I don't know how to get him out."

"I know another person that could help us." I said, suddenly remembering.

"Who?" Damon asked.

"Alaric."

We found Alaric walking through the hallways of the school. Damon and I darted in front of him. He stopped dead.

"Well, don't you look… alive?" Damon said.

"You can't hurt me." Alaric said.

"Oh, I can hurt you alright." I gave Damon a shove, causing him to stumble a few steps backwards.

"We need your help. Please." Elena caught up with us, a pleading look in her eyes. Alaric looked between us and then stepped into his classroom, motioning for us to follow him. Elena explained everything to him as quickly as possible.

"Stefan's in the house. Damon and Beth are vampires. They can't get in. We need you. I would go in but-."

"You're life is valuable. Yours on the other hand…" Damon finished.

"Stefan told me about your ring." Elena said.

"What about it?" He asked.

"Let me recap: you tried to kill me. I defended myself. You died. Then, according to my siblings, your ring brought you back to life. Am I leaving anything out?" Damon asked.

"Oh yeah… How about the part where you snapped your own sister's neck when she tried to stop you from killing me? And the part where I try to kill you again… Only this time I don't miss." Alaric told him.

"Mr. Saltzman, please! It's Stefan." Elena pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Elena, but it's not my problem." Alaric told her.

"That's a shame because the woman in charge of the crowd can help you find your wife." Damon said.

"You're lying."

"Am I? Why don't you ask her yourself? Coward. Come on, sis, Elena, let's go." We all started to walk out.

"Alright! I'll go!" Alaric called. We turned. Alaric was already pulling an arsenal of vampire weapons out from a bag beside his desk.

"Teacher by day, vampire hunter by night… Can you get weirder?" I asked him as we walked back over.

"I've got your brother to thank for that." He said, sending a glare towards Damon. Elena picked up a tranquilizer dart from the desk.

"What are these?"

"Those are tranquilizer darts filled with Vervain." Alaric answered.

"Just get me in. I'll get Stefan out." Damon said.

"Um, you mean 'us in', right?" I asked.

"Nope. You're staying outside with Elena. Far away, in fact. Like in the car." Damon told me.

"Stefan is my brother too!" I protested.

"I'm aware."

"I'm going in!"

"There's gosh-knows how many vampires in there. No."

"I wasn't asking." We glared at each other, each daring each other to say something. I saw out of the corner of my eye, Alaric and Elena exchanging 'what's happening?' looks. Finally Damon groaned loudly and I knew that I had won our silent little argument.

"If you get killed, I'll kill you!" He threatened.

"That's your plan? You're just gonna take them all on yourself?" Elena asked Damon.

"Well, I'll be a little stealthier than that, hopefully." Damon told her. Elena took one of the Vervain darts and put it in her purse.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Alaric asked.

"I'm going in with you guys."

"I get to go in because I'm a hundred plus year old vampire. You're a seventeen year old human. Big difference, Elena!" I told her.

"No way!" Damon told her.

"You'll need me! I'll get in. You could distract them and then I'll get Stefan out." Elena told him.

"You'll get yourself killed. You're not going in there." Damon said.

"I'm going!" Elena insisted. Damon just ignored her, looking over at Alaric again.

"So when you get Beth and me in there, get out as quickly as you can. I know how to sneak around so they can't hear me. Beth is a master of staying out of sight and out of mind, ironic since she's my sister, right? You'll basically be in the way." He explained.

"Damon, now is not the time to be the Lone Ranger!" Elena said.

"Relax, I got Squanto-." He jabbed his thumb over his finger at Alaric. "-and Silver." He pointed to me. I had no idea why I was being referred to as the horse, but I said nothing. She gave him a 'knock it off' look.

"Fine. You can drive the get-away car. But you're not going into that house." Damon told her.

"You can't stop me. Its Stefan here we're talking about. You don't understand."

"Oh, I understand, I understand. He's the reason you live. His love lifts you up where you belong. I get it!"

"Can you not joke around for two seconds?" She asked.

"I can't protect you, Elena! I don't know how many vampires are in here." He snapped his fingers. "That's how long it takes for you to get your head ripped off. Beth and I have to be able to get in and get out. I can't be distracted with your safety or this will end up in a bloodbath none of us walk out of. Including Stefan. I know. I get it. I understand." Damon told her.

"If we're going to go, let's go." Alaric said. They gathered the weapons and walked out of the room. Elena went to follow, but I grabbed her arm.

"This might seem unfair to you, but he's protecting you. We'll get Stefan out. I promise."

We drove back to the house and Alaric, Damon and I headed through the woods, leaving Elena in the car. Alaric went through the front door, muttering the story about his car breaking down and needing to use the phone under his breath. Damon and I snuck around to the back porch silently. We waited by the back door. A minute later, Alaric opened the door with Miss Gibbons beside him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. They aren't allowed in the house." Miss Gibbons said.

"I know that but you've gotta make an exception!" Alaric told her.

"Get her out of the house, now!" I told her. Alaric pushed her out the door and I grabbed her.

"Miss Gibbons, tell me the truth. Are you married?" I asked.

"No."

"Parents, children, anyone who lives on this property besides you?" I asked.

"No, it's just me."

"Good." Damon said. He snapped her neck. Once the owner was dead, we could get inside.

"You were supposed to compel her!" Alaric protested as we stepped inside the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, Alaric, it doesn't work that way. She was already compelled and we couldn't override that with another compulsion!" I told him.

"She was human!"

"And we're not, so we don't care!" Damon hissed. I flinched when he said 'we don't care' and I saw the look Alaric gave me. Confusion, shock… pity.

"Just get out here before any more vampires come in." I whispered to him. He nodded and headed out of the house. I shut the door as quietly as I could behind him. We heard someone walking towards the kitchen. Damon pulled a stake out of his pocket and pushed me into the pantry. He hurried in after me and pulled the door shut. When the door opened, Damon jumped out and staked the vampire. I darted out after him.

"Come on. Stick close." Damon whispered. We snuck out of the kitchen and into the cellar. I grabbed a smaller stake from my pocket and threw it like a knife at the vampire guarding the cellar as we came down the stairs. He dropped to the ground, dead. Elena stepped around the corner.

"Are you insane?" Damon asked. She didn't answer. I looked through the window on the door into the next room. When I saw Stefan I hurried inside. Elena and Damon were right behind me.

"Elena… You shouldn't be here…" Stefan said weakly from where he was hanging from ropes.

"She was supposed to wait in the car." Damon snapped. He went to stake the vampire sitting in a chair with stakes through his legs, but Stefan shook his head.

"No… not him…"

"Whatever." Damon said. I ran over and reached for the ropes, but as soon as I touched them, I yanked my hands back painfully.

"There's Vervain on the ropes." I told Damon.

"Elena, pull that!" Damon ordered her, pointing towards where the ropes were tied. She ran over and pulled the ropes up. Damon and I caught Stefan as he fell the couple inches to the floor.

"All right, let's go. Clothes on." Damon threw Stefan his shirt. I helped him get it over his head.

"Wait." Stefan protested as we started to pull him out of the cellar.

"What?! Guys come on, we have to get out of here!" Damon said. Stefan went over and pulled one of the stakes out of the vampire's legs. I ran over and pulled the other one out.

"Come on, we gotta go!" Damon urged from the door. Stefan leaned on me as we went over to Damon. I could hear the other vampires upstairs. I passed Stefan off to Elena.

"Can you get him to the car?" I asked.

"Yeah." She agreed.

"Then go!" Damon hissed.

"What about you two?" She asked.

"You rescue, we distract. Go!" I ordered her. Damon and I headed back upstairs while Elena and Stefan went out the cellar door. A vampire was coming into the hallway, so I grabbed the second stake from my pocket, darted over, staked him and then darted back unseen. Damon grinned over at me as we watched that vampire from last night stare in shock at the dead vampire.

"Nice work, sis." He mouthed at me. I smiled.

"Spread out! Now! You two, back of the house. Go. Check both rooms. Cellar, now!" The vampire started barking out orders.

"Get the ones in the cellar? We might as well be thorough." Damon whispered so low it was hard to hear. I nodded in agreement. I darted down the cellar steps after the two vampires. I staked one from behind and ducked as the other one swung at me. He kicked my hand, hard, causing me to drop the stake. Then he grabbed me by the throat, pushing me against a wall.

"You're a…"

"Were you going to say 'little girl'? Because that's not good for your health." I told him. I head-butted him and then kicked him in the stomach. I jumped for my stake and grabbed it. He jumped for me and all I had to do was hold the stake out in front of me. It got him through the heart. I pulled it out, smirked at his dead body and then hurried upstairs again. Alaric and Damon were there.

"I'm going after Fredrick!" Damon ran off.

"Fredrick! That was his name!" Alaric looked at me as I said it.

"Not the most important thing right now." He reminded me.

"Right. Sorry." He was busy reloading his dart gun. Suddenly a vampire jumped on top of him from behind us, knocking him to the ground. I jumped onto the vampire, staking him. I kicked the body to the side and then offered my hand to help Alaric up. He looked slightly surprised but took it. I pulled him up.

"Thanks." He said.

"No problem." Damon came back into the hallway.

"Fredrick's gone." Damon told us.

"Let's get out of here." Alaric suggested.

"I'm gonna kill him." Damon went on. The three of us headed out onto the front porch. We saw a dozen or more vampires heading for the house, not looking too thrilled with us.

"How many darts do you have left?" Damon asked Alaric.

"One."

"Not gonna be enough!" He decided. We ran back inside.

"What do we do?" I asked.

"Take our chances." Damon suggested.

"We can't take all those vampires!" I protested.

"Well…"

"Damon!"

"Fine! You got a plan then, Beth?" He asked.

"So what you said about my wife… That was a lie, wasn't it?" Alaric asked.

"Yep." Damon agreed with a casual nod. I gave Alaric an apologetic look. Just then Anna and Pearl walked into the house. The three of us turned to face them.

"Stop! What's going on here? What did you do?" Pearl demanded.

"Us? You're merry little band of vampires spent the day torturing our brother!" I growled. I started to step forward, stake raised, but Damon put out an arm to stop me again. Alaric grabbed the hood of my sweatshirt and used it to pull me backwards.

"Trust me, the parties responsible for this will be dealt with." Pearl told us.

"Our little arrangement doesn't work unless you learn to control them." Damon told her.

"This wasn't supposed to happen." Pearl said.

"Well it did." I said. I darted past her and looked out the window on the door. No vampires were outside. I waved my hand towards Damon and Alaric. Alaric hurried over to me. Damon walked slowly past Pearl and Anna.

"If I had a good side… Not a way to get on it!" Damon told them. We ran outside and into the woods, heading for the car at human speed.

That night, I was on the couch, doodling in one of my school notebooks. It was kind of hard to concrete on Spanish when you had to worry about vampires.

"You see Stefan?" Damon asked, walking into the room. I looked up.

"Let's go find him. We need a leash for him." I said. I threw my notebook aside and we walked up the stairs to his bedroom. I opened the door.

"Stefan-." I stopped when I saw the empty blood-bags all around him. He was draining another one. He looked up, eyes black and vein-y.

"Oh no..."