I read one of Jonathan Gilbert's journals as Stefan was outside. It was still tense, but I stood by my choice. With the book in my hand, I sat as Jonathan's words sunk in, With the dying embers of the fire at Fell's Church, the scourge of the vampires had passed. And though war raged on around us, our town was safe from the demons of the night, or so we thought. The monsters we drove to their fiery deaths had begun new monsters.

Jonathan then accounted the death of Honoria and Thomas Fell. He went on and wrote, I knew I was about to die, you cannot run from a vampire. I saw the vampire who killed me, I recognized him. It was Stefan Salvatore.

I turned to look at Stefan, who was skipping rocks, and I grew confused, Why didn't he tell me?

Stefan skipped rocks until his phone rang, "What's going on?" He asked his older brother, who answered, "Well, I showered, I shaved, I had breakfast. I'm very relaxed." "That makes one of us." Stefan replied.

"I did hear one piece of good news, though. Tyler Lockwood ran away from home last night." Damon informed him, and Stefan asked, "How do you know?" "Well, I heard it from Sheriff Forbes who heard it from a very distraught Carol Lockwood, thus ending our werewolf chapter and bring us to…" Stefan finished his brother's sentence, "Killing Elijah."

Damon fiddled with the dagger in his hand, "Exactly." "Well it's not gonna be easy, he's crafty." Stefan responded, and Damon countered, "Well, we've got a crafty little dagger." "He's an Original, we don't know what all that encompasses."

"Well, Stefan don't worry, I'm gonna dot all my T's. I don't want any surprises." "Wow, Damon. Are you actually gonna be careful for once?" Stefan mocked his brother who answered, "Yes, Stefan. I've become you, how tragic for both of us. I've gotta run, I've got a murder to plan, busy day." The two then hung up, and Stefan looked towards the house.

I looked up from the journal as Stefan made his way into the house. There was an awkward silence until I asked, "Are you still mad?" Stefan scoffed and answered, "Yes, I'm still mad." "We had a difference in opinion, Stefan. We're not always going to agree on everything." I reasoned, and Stefan retorted, "Erin, you've agreed to sacrifice yourself to Klaus. To say that we have a difference in opinion is the understatement of the century."

I tried to bring up the mood a little by joking, "You would know." Stefan cracked a smile at that, and asked, "What does Jonathan Gilbert have to say?" I sighed and spoke, "A lot, actually. It's insane the things he wrote in his journal, what he kept from the founding families, stuff that nobody knows, stuff that you never told me."

Handing him the journal, he opened to the page I was reading and nodded. He shut the book and told, "We were angry at the founding families for what they did to Katherine, we wanted revenge. I didn't know about Jonathan Gilbert's ring yet, I didn't know that he would survive." "He described you as a monster." I whispered, trying not to be too touchy.

"That's what I was." He stated, and I tried to make sense of Stefan, my Stefan, being a monster. He looked at me and said, "I want you to know the truth. And I want you to hear it from me. Weeks after I became a vampire, I relished in it, I took it to the darkest place I could." Stefan continued with the story, and I was shocked at what I heard.

When I thought about it, it really did make sense. Stefan was the hero, my hero, and when he shut off his emotions, he became the complete opposite of who he really was. "I wasn't myself then, I was full of guilt, what I did to my father, my brother, I had to turn it off. It was the only way I could survive." "It sounds like you were Damon." I told, and he shook his head, "I was worse."

Damon woke Katherine up in the tomb and gave her some blood. When she started to gulp it down, Damon spoke, "I come bearing gifts. I didn't have time to properly shop, but I did get a couple things from Erin's closet. Wow, that blood did the trick, you're almost as pretty as Elena. But, you're still not up to Erin's standards."

"What is it you want, Damon?" Katherine asked, and Damon smirked, "Guess who's back in town? You're old friend John Gilbert." Katherine raise her eyebrows at this and said, "Really, why?" Damon shrugged and answered, "He said he loves his daughters, wants to protect Erin from Elijah and big bad Klaus."

"Touching." Katherine stated sarcastically while feeling a little jealous of Erin, she had a whole group of people willing to save her. "He told me this old wise tale about how to kill an Original." Damon informed her, and Katherine drawled, "And you want to know if it's true. If it was, I wouldn't tell you." "And why not? I mean, you want Elijah and Klaus dead as much as I do."

Katherine changed into other clothes and told, "Klaus yes, Elijah no. He's compelled me to stay in here, and if he dies I'm stuck forever." "Sucks for you." Damon smirked as Katherine taunted, "Forget it, Damon. Killing Elijah would be a suicide mission, you can't do it."

"Can so." "Can't." Katherine argued, and Damon countered, "Even with a dagger and a little white oak ash?" Katherine froze begged, "No, Damon. If you kill Elijah then I'm stuck in here forever." "You're really scared." Damon observed, and she pleaded, "Just get me out of here first. And then I'll help you kill Elijah, or protect Erin, whatever you want."

"I get you out of here and your ass is sipping Klaus free margaritas in some unknown island somewhere, no way." Damon said, and Katherine shook her head, "That's not true, I'll stay. I like Erin, and I'll protect her, okay? Just please Damon, don't do it."

Damon then thanked her, "You've told me everything I needed to know." "I've told you nothing." She argued, and Damon stated, "You have, you have indeed confirmed that it is possible to kill an Original, which I will do tonight."

I looked out at the view as Stefan told, "For weeks I kept spiraling, completely driven for the desire for blood. Hunt, prey, kill, it was all I knew." He handed me a cup of coffee, and I took it gratefully. "How come no one caught on to what you were doing?" I asked, and he answered, "There was a war going on. The thing about war is the endless amount of blood supply."

My boyfriend then spoke of a time where he met someone, "Alexia Branson as she was known back then." "Lexi? Your other best friend Lexi? That's how you met her?" I questioned him, and he nodded. "What was she even doing in Mystic Falls?" "She had heard it was a good place for vampires to go. Had no idea that they had all been massacred. She needed a place to crash, so I brought her home with me."

As he shared the story, I noticed that he seemed sad, "You okay?" Stefan nodded and spoke, "Talking about her just made me think of things I'd rather forget." I nodded, knowing that he meant how Damon killed her, and I wouldn't dare mention it, something I knew Elena would do.

Damon opened the door for Elijah, "Thank you for coming, please come in." "Can I say that if you have less than honorable intensions about how this evening is going to proceed, then I suggest you reconsider." Elijah stated, and Damon was impressed with his judgment.

"No nothing dishonorable, just getting to know you." Damon lied, and Elijah nodded and walked towards the younger vampire, "That's good. Because although the lovely Erin and I have this deal, if you so much as make a move to cross me, I'll kill you and everyone in this house. Are we clear?" "Crystal." Damon answered, and Elijah then noticed Jenna.

"Jenna, it's wonderful to see you again, how are you?" Elijah buttered Jenna up with a compliment, and Damon gritted his teeth as he hoped to just kill the guy already.

Jenna poured some wine into Damon's glass and spoke, "I hate to break it to you, Damon, but according to Elijah, your family is so not a founder of this town." Damon hummed and said, "Do tell." Elijah modestly told, "Well, as I mentioned to Erin earlier, a faction of settlers migrated here after the witch trials in the 1690s. Over the next hundred years, they developed a community where they could feel safe from persecution."

Jenna then stated, "Because they were witches." Andie then chimed in, "You know there is no tangible proof that there were witches in Salem." "Andie's a journalist, big on facts." Damon then winked to his 'girlfriend' from across the table.

"The lore says that a wave of anti-witch hysteria broke out in the neighboring settlement, so these witches were rounded up, tied to stakes in a field together, and burned. Some say you could hear the screams from miles around, could you pass that?" Elijah brushed it off.

"I wouldn't repeat this to the Historical Society, and above all, no one tell Erin. I'm sure she would try to locate the site." When Jenna said this, Elijah's head shot up, and Damon couldn't help but notice. "Why do you want know the location of the alleged witch massacre?"
Elijah shrugged and lied, "Healthy historian's curiosity, of course. I'm sure if Erin was here, she would understand that." "Of course." Damon stated bitterly.

Stefan walked back into the room as I kept reading, "Jonathan Gilbert got crazier and crazier. I guess that's what happens when you spend your life obsessed with vampires." I put the book down and grabbed another as my boyfriend just watched me.

I opened to a random page in the journal and widened my eyes, "He researched the Originals." I said, and Stefan sat next to me, "You're kidding." "Later in life, look. Pages and pages of questions and scribbles." I stopped when I landed on a page with a drawing.

"The wood from one tree and one tree alone, an ancient white oak, would bring death to an Original vampire. When the tree was burned, all hope was thought lost. He was trying to figure out how to kill an Original. But the ash from the tree was saved, and witches formed the dagger in which the ashes could be bonded. This alchemic bond provides the necessary poison… I wonder if it's true. I mean, do you think this dagger actually exists?"

Stefan said my name, and I stopped talking for a second, "I know it does. John gave it to Damon." I tried to make sense of it, and repeated, "John gave the weapon to Damon, the one that could kill Elijah? This one?" Stefan nodded and I kept reading, "It must be brandished by humans alone, for it will bring death to all demons who wield it."

He then snatched the book from me and read it through, "John's trying to have Damon killed." Stefan then called Damon, who didn't pick up, so he tried Alaric. "What is going on, Stefan?" I questioned, and he replied, "Damon is planning on killing Elijah. Tonight." My mouth dropped open and I couldn't say anything.

Andie asked Ric to grab her notebook, and Damon decided to semi confront John, "Elijah, did John tell you that he's Erin's Uncle/ Father?" "Yes, I am well aware of that, Erin told me." Elijah admitted, and John didn't like the idea of Elijah hanging around with his daughter. "Of course she hates him, so there's no need to keep him on the endangered species list." Andie got up to get the notebook, and John spoke, "What I'd like to know, Elijah, is how you intend on killing Klaus."

"Gentlemen, there's probably a few things we need to get clear right now. I allow you to live solely to keep an eye on Erin. I allow Erin to remain living in her house with a life with her friends as she does as a courtesy. If you become a liability, I'll take her away and you'll never see her again." Elijah grimly told them, and he meant every word.

When Andie sat down and started to talk, Alaric came up from behind the Original and stabbed him in the chest with the dagger. He pulled it out, and stated, "Get him out of here before Jenna comes back with dessert."

I stood outside, wanting to be alone right now. I couldn't believe that they were trying to kill Elijah, they went behind my back. I heard the door open and close behind me, "Erin, we need to talk about this." "What good is talking if you and Damon are just going to lie to me." I countered.

"If you don't like my decisions, that's fine, there is nothing I can do about that. But if you ever go behind my back again, I'll-" Stefan cut me off, "You're gonna what? Hm? What are you going to do Erin?" "It's my life!" I argued, and he responded, "Exactly, it's your life! And I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure you live it."

"Then what, this trip through the past, was there any truth to it, or were you just distracting me?" I questioned him, and I regretted those words once they left my mouth. "I was telling you about a time when I thought everything was lost, when I had given up because that is exactly what you are doing right now."

I shook my head and said, "That's not what-" He interrupted me again and yelled, "Yes it is, even if you don't want to admit it. You are giving up, and Lexi wouldn't let me give up, I'm not gonna let you. Lexi showed me that there was another way, and from that day forward I started fighting for it. For my own survival."

He then took my face in his hands, "That's all I want you to do, I just want you to fight for it." Stefan then kissed my forehead and walked into the house, leaving me to my thoughts. Elijah understood. I sighed and just went back into the house after a few more minutes.

I went through the journal about the Originals again when Stefan came down, "Elijah's dead, Alaric did it." I closed my eyes and sighed as Stefan sat next to me, "I know you cared for him in your own way, that's who you are, and I love you for it."

"Originals believed in truth and honor. It was forbidden for a vampire to kill another vampire, so the dagger would take both lives. And as long as the dagger stays in place, the Originals is for all intents and purposes dead." I told him, and Stefan immediately called Damon.

Stefan told me the plan, but I chose to ignore his and Damon's scheme. I would do this my way. Stefan grabbed my arm and informed me, "He's here." Elijah blew the door down, and I turned to Stefan, "You have to go, I need to talk to him alone." Stefan was about to disagree, but I stated, "It's okay, he can't come in the house."

I then heard his voice from the doorway, "You know, I might not be able to enter this house, but I'm a very patient man, I'll wait you out." I grabbed the knife from the counter and walked towards the door, "They shouldn't have done what they did."

"The deal is off." Elijah stated, and I argued stubbornly, "I'm renegotiating." "You have nothing left to negotiate with." He spoke, and that was when I pulled out the knife. "I'd like to see you lure Klaus into Mystic Falls after the doppelganger bleeds to death." "Neither Stefan nor Damon would let you die." Elijah said, making me surprised, but I hid it.

"You're right, they won't. Stefan will feed me his blood to heal me and I'll kill myself and become a vampire, just like Katherine did." I said and gaged his reaction, and I continued as he contemplated it, "So unless you want that to happen again, promise me the same as before, promise me you won't harm anyone that I love even if they've harmed you."

Elijah's mouth open and closed for a few moments before he answered, "I'm sorry, Erin, but I'm going to have to call your bluff." I nodded and stated, "Wrong choice." I then stabbed myself in the stomach, and pain shot through me as I felt the blood leave my body.

I groaned in agony and Elijah rushed towards me, but he was blocked by the barrier. "Yes, yes you can have your deal. Let me heal you." He pleaded, and I choked out, "Give me your word." "I give you my word." I weakly stumbled into his arms, and I felt him softly kiss the top of my head.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered and stabbed him with the dagger. Elijah then fell to the ground, and after a second, so did I. But, Stefan caught me and fed me his blood. I pulled away and Stefan held me as Damon spoke, "A little tip, don't pull the dagger out."

I watched as Stefan and Damon loaded Elijah's body into the basement of the Boarding House. Stefan held me at his side as Damon grabbed the moonstone from Elijah's pocket. "Our little moonstone bar of soap, I'll hold onto this." "So that's it? As long as we keep the dagger in there then he stays dead." I repeated what I said earlier, still unsure. "Pretty much." Damon answered me, and I nodded and sighed.

I was about to walk out, but I turned around and said, "You know, you guys want me to fight? Fine, I'll fight, but if we're going to do this, you two can't keep anything from me anymore. From this moment on, we're doing it my way. I'm keeping my promise to Rose."

The brothers nodded, and I could see the emotion and admiration in Damon's eyes. "Okay, goodnight." I then walked upstairs and into Stefan's room. Changing out of my bloody clothes, I jumped into bed and turned off the light.

A few minutes later, I felt Stefan's arms around me, and I cuddled into him. I felt safe in his arms, and strong feelings surfaced whenever I was near him, or even when I thought about him. I'm in love with Stefan.

Damon heard the water running in his bathroom as he opened the door, "Andie? I thought you left." He then walked into his bathroom, Erin? No way, it couldn't be, Elena? Maybe…no. Katherine. Katherine faced him and walked out of the shower. Damon's face dropped, and Katherine asked, "Hello Damon, do you have a robe?"

"How did you get out?" He asked, and she smirked, "I knew that if I begged you not to kill Elijah, that's exactly what you'd do. Little known fact: Originals can compel vampires, but as soon as they die, compulsion wears off." "And you knew." He stated.

Katherine then said, "And I'm still here, I didn't run. I meant what I said, Damon, I'm going to help you and Erin. Well, maybe I'll kill Elena while I'm at it. So, how about that robe?"