McKenna sat on the Wickery Bridge and painted.

When she had returned home from visiting Elijah, Stefan had told her she was going to get some major backlash from Damon when he returned. She made sure she was in bed when the older Salvatore came home.

The next day was Saturday so she didn't have class. She packed up her bag and art supplies, got in the car, and headed to a secluded area. She found the Wickery Bridge and set up.

Painting was one way she was able to relax. With everything going on, moving to Mystic Falls and getting set up, she had gotten into fights with Damon her first week living with them. She was used to being independent and making her own decisions. She didn't understand why he was so upset. Elijah was a good guy and she liked his family. At least she like Kol. He hadn't done anything to her.

So why was he making such a big deal?

Deciding to ignore all the questions swimming around in her head, she looked out at the water. The green liquid made her tilt her head in wonder. Could she get the color right or would she have to scrap the painting all together?

As she was mixing the colors to try to match it, another car pulled up. She recognized Elena Gilbert in the driver's seat. She got out and made her way over just as McKenna was putting the water on the canvas. Elena sat down beside her and watched for a few moments in silent wonder.

"My parents died on this bridge," she said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. I just liked the way it looked," McKenna replied.

"Don't stop. It looks gentler than it really is. And thank you but I'm dealing with it." Elena looked out over the now still water. There was something she wasn't saying.

McKenna swirled her brushes in the water beside her then wiped them on a rag she had draped across her leg. "Just tell me what it is, Elena."

The other girl sighed. "How well do you know Elijah?"

"I'm getting to know him little by little. I know he likes art and wearing fine things. I saw him in jeans for the first time the other night." She stopped and looked at her. "What is it that you aren't telling me?"

Elena looked at her with such sadness she turned her head somewhat away. "Someone needs to tell you and that might as well be me because I've been where you are now." She took a deep breath. "Damon, Stefan, Caroline, and the entire Mikaelsen family are vampires. That includes Elijah. Damon and Stefan are trying to keep you from getting hurt. I know I shouldn't be the one telling you this but I also don't want you getting hurt."

McKenna looked out over the river then. Elijah and his family were vampires? So were Damon and Stefan? That made sense. It Damon's protectiveness into prospect and the reason he didn't like Elijah that much.

"I'm so sorry for having to tell you but Elijah wouldn't unless you ask him dead on. He's that cautious," Elena babbled.

"Does this have anything to do with the group that showed up in the bar yesterday and confronted Kol?" she asked.

Elena looked at her in surprise. "What group? I didn't see a group when I was in there about seven."

"You wouldn't because they left just after Kol arrived."

The other girl looked nervous and confused. So nervous she was wringing her hands in her lap. Finally she stood and grabbed McKenna's hand. "We have to go talk to Kol. He has undoubtedly told his family by now."

McKenna didn't say a word as she cleaned up her area and packed it back in her car. Elena took her car and led the way to the Mikaelsen house.

The drive gave McKenna time to think. Elijah was a vampire. That made sense. It explained why he was a little bit cooler than she was and why he seemed more cautious than he needed to be. It also brought on new questions. If he was a vampire, why did he eat dinner with her a week ago when he took her out and why did he drink other things other than blood and how could he walk in the sun? That didn't make sense. She remembered from old movies that vampires couldn't eat solid foods or walk in the sun.

Twenty minutes later they were pulling into the driveway of the massively opulent Mikaelsen house. Elena was the first out of her car and walking up the front steps. McKenna caught up with her after she knocked on the door. They looked at each other as they waited. The door flew open seconds later. A young, blond woman stood on the other side.

"Great. Elena Gilbert and the new girl are here. Sorry but Elijah's not here," she said snootily. Her accent made it even worse.

"I'm not here to see Elijah. Well, I am, but right now I need to talk to Kol," McKenna replied calmly. There was no need for her to get into a fight with this girl.

Rebekah rolled her eyes and moved back to allow them in. She moved in the direction of the living room. "Kol, you have visitors!"

Elena stood nervously in the foyer of the house. McKenna could only image what Kol had done to the girl to make her act as she did. He had been nothing but a friend to her. Then again she was technically seeing his brother. She wondered if that would change when she talked with him about this certain topic.

Kol descended the stairs. His face went from confusion to a broad smile in about two seconds. He came over to them and offered a hug. McKenna gladly accepted it and wasn't surprised when Elena was hesitant to give him one. When she finally did, he took his time. McKenna punched him.

"Behave," she scolded.

Kol laughed. "I was just having fun."

"No, you were being a pain."

He motioned them to the kitchen where he set about pulling out glasses and orange juice. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

The girls looked at each other. Elena took the lead.

"McKenna said you had some unsavory visitors at the bar last night," she said.

He stopped pouring and looked at McKenna. "You saw that, did you?"

"I'm a bartender/waitress, Kol. I see everything," McKenna replied.

He passed the glasses to them and sat across the island. "What else did you see?"

"When he was done talking to you, two others joined him; one male and one female. They weren't much older than us."

Silence filled the room as they looked at each other. Elena looked between the two as she tried to figure out what was going on between them.

During that time, the door opened once again. Two sets of footsteps came their direction. There was a scoff behind them. Elena saw Elijah come behind McKenna and kiss her shoulder. The other girl turned her head towards him but immediately looked back at Kol.

"Elena Gilbert," Klaus said as he took up a position beside Kol. "There's no party tonight. What is the honor?"

"McKenna knows," Kol stated simply.

Elijah sucked in a deep breath at his brother's blunt statement. He looked at Klaus then down at the girl in front of him. How could she?

"How?" Klaus asked.

"She saw the hunters talking to me. I think Elena put two and two together for her."

"So there are hunters in Mystic Falls?" Elena asked.

"Yes, there are three of them. You better warn Damon and Stefan."

"I'll warn Caroline," Klaus said.

Elena and Klaus moved from the kitchen. Elena's car was heard pulling away from the house. McKenna got up and walked around the kitchen, keeping the remaining Mikaelsens to her back.

"Is it true?" she asked after a while. "Are you vampires?"

It took a moment and a little bit of whispering but Elijah finally answered. "Yes, we are vampires."

She nodded then turned around and crossed her arms. "Then how the hell can you walk in the sun and eat regular food?"

At that Kol burst out laughing. "We tell you we're vampires and all you care about is how we can walk out in the sun and eat regular food?" He laughed again and looked back at his brother. "She's a keeper, brother."

Elijah stared at her. "How is it you're not freaked out?"

"Oh please. I'm not that freaked out by anything. I may hate horror movies but that's because I hate the crappy CGI."

"If I told you Klaus was a hybrid, would that bother you?" Kol asked.

She took a minute to think about it then shook her head. "No, not really."

Kol nodded then turned and headed out of the kitchen. He clapped his brother on the shoulder on the way out. "I say keep her."

Elijah waited until his brother was gone before he moved around the counter to get to her. He framed her face as soon as he could touch her and searched her face for a few moments. What he found was a strong woman who could handle what and who he was.

He opened his eyes as her hands grasped his and moved them down. She rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him. She had become bolder in the week they had been seeing each other and he liked that.

He didn't press her against the counter like his instincts told him to. Instead he gripped her hips gently as he dipped his head. It felt nice. She wasn't running away screaming, which was a good sign, but she wasn't asking the pertinent questions.

"Wait." He pulled away and looked down at her. "You have to know the truth."

"On how you became a vampire?" she asked. He nodded. "Okay."

"Not here." He took her hand and led her from the house.

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McKenna stared at the ceiling.

Elijah had taken out to the backyard where they walked and he had told her his story. She had been completely surprised when he said it had been his mother who had turned him and it was she who had wanted to kill him. He had said they were all linked and if one died, they all would. His brother Finn had fled with his mother when Klaus, Kol and he had threatened her. He had also left but returned to see how his family was doing, only to be surprised to see Kol had returned and that he met her.

He had been totally gone when he told her all this. It was as if he had gone to some alternate reality. He wasn't Elijah Mikaelsen then. He was Elijah, son of Mikael and Esther. He was a young man who loved his family desperately enough to stay with them for a thousand years.

He had told her about the woman he and Klaus had fell in love with at the same time. It hadn't happened just once but twice. The other woman was Elena's ancestor and fellow vampire Katherine Pierce, or Katerina Petrova as she was known then. He admitted to an infatuation with Elena until Damon had stepped in and put a stop to it. Then McKenna had showed up and his attention had shifted.

She should have been upset that he was telling her about the other women he had loved but it was his past and she had asked him to tell her. And he had. He said he wasn't going to lie to her anymore and she knew he meant it. She knew what he was and wasn't scared about it.

He had given her an explanation as to why he could eat and walk in the sun. He could eat as long as he had enough blood in his system to allow him to do so. He could walk in the sun because his mother had made rings for them that had been infused with a spell that allowed them out during the day. He had laughed when she said that she had been thinking of something completely cooler.

They had spent the rest of the afternoon laying in the backyard just staring at the sky. It was close to dark when she told him she had to get home. Stefan and Damon hadn't been home when she came back so she set her painting by the fire and went upstairs. They had returned a few hours later but she refused to go downstairs. She really needed to. She needed to talk to them.

Getting up enough courage, McKenna got up and went downstairs. Damon was leaning against the back of the couch that Stefan was sitting on. They were talking quietly, too quietly. That must have been part of their abilities.

"Hey, guys," she said as she stepped off the last step. She knew they knew she was standing there but she felt like she needed to tell them.

"Hey, Kenna," Stefan said. "Did you have a good day painting?"

"Yeah, it was cool."

"The portrait looks good."

"Thanks." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Elena told me what you and the Mikaelsens are."

"We know. She told us that she told you," Damon said as he moved to the chair.

"Is this what you were trying to protect me from? You didn't want me to find out what you were?"

"That and we didn't want you to get involved in our lifestyle," Stefan said as she walked around the couch and curled up beside him. "You're an innocent. There's no reason for you to be involved."

"It was bothering Elijah."

"Oh, forget Elijah already. He's just going to hurt you," Damon said as the ice in his glass clinked.

"Would you shut up? No one asked for your opinion."

"I give it freely."

"What's your problem, Damon? You've done nothing but ride my ass since I started talking to Elijah and his family."

Damon sat up and leaned forward. "You're young and you've never been in this before. At least Elena had some sort of warning before she got involved. You're an artist, for crying out loud. You have the ability to see things in a different light than the rest of us and paint it that way. Use that ability and forget about being with an Original who is going to die anyway."

McKenna had stared at the fire during his entire spiel. He was really being overprotective but she wasn't going to say anything about it. He could remain that way if he wanted but she was going to do things her way.

"Elijah's lonely. Even though he has his family, he doesn't have that one person he can truly open up to. He thinks everyone will turn his back on him and he will have no one." She turned to Stefan to make her point. "You're like that. Yes, I've talked to Elena. You have Damon and you trust Damon to be at your back. Elijah can't trust Klaus. Maybe Kol depending on his mood, but not Klaus. I can't let him do this alone."

"He's done this alone for a thousand years. He can survive a thousand more," Damon said hotly.

"Damon," Stefan said. It was more of a scolding tone but it was soft. When his brother was quiet, he looked back at McKenna. He rubbed her shoulder gently to let her know he was seriously thinking it over. "Elijah is honorable. He may need someone to help him deal with this but it doesn't have to be you."

McKenna looked at him incredulously then shrugged his hand away. "I can't believe you. You're the one who's supposed to be on my side. Just because Elijah took Elena to get you to do what he wanted so he could stop his mother from killing him and his siblings doesn't mean he'll do the same to me."

A smile ghosted its way across Stefan's face. "You've fallen hard for him haven't you?" She stopped at the thought and he nodded. "I figured. Not many people talk so passionately about a person unless they've fallen for him. All I can ask is that you be very careful. These hunters are the real deal. They will kill you if they find out you are involved with us."

Damon made a noise in the back of his throat as he downed his drink then slammed his glass down. "Well then I guess it can't be helped."

Stefan and McKenna watched him walk to the door and pull his leather jacket on. "Where are you going?"

The older Salvatore turned. "To pay Elijah a little visit." He slammed the door on his way out.