Hey guys! Sorry about being late and MIA, I have been working on other stories. I have not forgotten about this one, and I promised I would finish this season by the end of the month! I will be constantly writing for this story this week, and I will not stop until this season is done! Here is the chapter, hope you like!
Erin stood next to her twin, glaring at her birth mother. Jenna stared between the three, speechless as Isobel greeted, "Hello Erin, Elena. It's nice to see you again." The twins walked towards the door warily, and Erin was going to say something to her mother but decided against it.
"Again?" Jenna asked the girls, the betrayal clear in her eyes. Elena opened her mouth, but Isobel cut her off and addressed Jenna, "So, you're the woman who's dating my husband. I need to speak with Erin, may I come in?"
"No, no, no. Don't Jenna, don't invite her in." Elena stuttered, and Isobel looked at Erin, "I need to talk to you, Erin." The girl was angered that her mother would just waltz back into her life and pretend like their last encounter didn't happen. She could not come into her town and mess up their lives again, not on Erin's watch.
Erin snapped, "No." And then, she slammed the door in the woman's face and sighed. The twins gazed up at their aunt, who had tears in her eyes. "You two knew she was still alive? Ric, John, did they know?" Tears were now streaming down Jenna's face, and when Erin tried to explain themselves, their Aunt ran up stairs and into her room.
Erin ran after her aunt, calling her name up the stairs. The girl banged on the door when she found it locked, and she just sunk to the ground and cried. "Jenna, you have to talk to me. I need to explain what's going on."
The next morning, Elena answered the door and saw Alaric on the other side. "Is she up yet?" The man immediately asked her and walked into the house. Elena shook her head and sighed, "She won't come out of her room. Erin's been sitting on the other side of her door since last night, but Jenna won't talk to her. If she wouldn't talk to Erin, she definitely wouldn't talk to either of us."
Just then, Jenna came down the stairs with Erin right behind her. "I don't want to talk to you, Ric. You need to go." Aunt Jenna spoke, and she put her bag down for a second. Alaric tried to ease the tension by saying, "Listen, I know I can't begin to understand how you must be feeling right now-" His girlfriend cut him off as she snapped, "Rage and betrayal pretty much cover it."
Elena asked where her aunt was going, and Jenna answered, "I'm going to stay on campus. I have a thesis to write, and I don't want to be in this house." Alaric asked her to let them explain, but Jenna ignored him and addressed her niece, "Erin, I need you to go to the Lockwood's today and accept the Historical Society's check for your mom's foundation."
"Okay, Jenna. Just please-" Erin's pleading was interrupted by Jenna, who yelled, "I don't have it in me to hear any more lies from you." Aunt Jenna then slammed the door, and Erin felt extremely guilty. She was going to go after her, but her father came out and said, "Let her go. It's better she's not here what with everything that's going on. But, maybe if you had been more honest with her from the beginning this would have-"
John's speech was cut short by Alaric's fist. Elena gasped while Erin exclaimed, "Oh! What a shot!" Alaric apologized to the girls and was on his way out when Erin called, "Thank you!" John's nose started to bleed, and Elena snapped, "You know this is all your fault, right?" The girls then went up to their rooms, and Erin decided to take a nap after being up all night.
Elena called Stefan, and he came right away. He went up to find Erin, who was in her room sleeping. Stefan sat on the bed next to her and watched her dream, but his moment was interrupted as Elena walked into the bedroom. Stefan quietly told his ex what was going on with Matt and Caroline, and she spoke, "This is bad. With what's going on with Isobel and John and Jenna, and now Matt, this is disaster bad."
Stefan agreed with her, but his mood got worse as John came into view. He strolled to the door of Erin's room, and when he saw Erin sleeping he said, "Elena, can you come downstairs please, and could you wake up your sister? I need to talk to you two." Elena scoffed at her father and stated, "I have nothing to say to you."
The twin's father then begged, "Please, it's important. You too Stefan." The vampire nodded and softly shook Erin awake. The girl stirred and soon, they all walked down the stairs. As soon as Erin saw Isobel, she stopped walking and froze, as did Elena. "I asked John for a do-over." Isobel explained.
Elena then hissed at her father, "You invited her in?!" Erin kept her gaze on her mother as John defended himself, "She has information about Klaus. Please just listen to her, okay?" "Then talk." Erin ordered, and they all shuffled into the kitchen.
"Since I was last here, I've been doing everything possible to find Klaus. We knew our best chance was to find him before he could find you two." Isobel informed them, and Elena paced while Erin stood next to Stefan. Her boyfriend questioned, "Best chance of what?" John answered and looked to his daughters, "To keep Erin and Elena alive."
Elena snapped at her father, "You don't get to talk, okay? Not after everything you've done." Erin just watched on and listened silently, which made Isobel a little nervous. "Were you able to find Klaus?" Stefan asked, and Isobel denied, "No, nobody knows where he is. But there are these rumors that are flying around that a doppelganger exists."
"Which means that every vampire that wants to get in with Klaus will be lining up to capture Erin." John added, which made Erin and Stefan look at each other. Elena then spoke her mind, "I'm not buying any of this, and neither should you, Erin. The last time you were here, you made it clear that you didn't give a damn about us. And now all of a sudden, we're supposed to believe that you want to help?"
John then defended his baby momma and spoke, "Isobel's been helping all along. Klaus has been obsessed with finding Katherine for centuries, all it would take was one of those 1864 tomb vampires to spread the word around that Katherine was still alive. Which would bring him to Mystic Falls, where you both were bound to be discovered, so we killed them."
Elena then argued, "And almost got Stefan and Damon killed in the process!" Isobel then stood up and walked toward Erin, "I have a safe house that I can take you to. The deed is in your name, no vampires can get in without your permission, not even me. Let me help you, Erin."
Everyone waited for Erin to say something, and the girl replied, "You want to help? Then get the hell out of my house."
"He thinks I'm helping him protect Erin, so he's been very useful in keeping me informed on everything that's been going on." Isobel told her friend. She and Katherine sat on the couch in the nicest foreclosure in town, and the two drank their French wine and caught up. "So, tell me what you know." Katherine stated, and her friend turned towards her.
Isobel revealed, "You were right, I couldn't get anywhere near Klaus. But, I found my way to someone in his trusted circle: one of his witches." Katherine raised her glass and muttered before throwing it back, "Klaus has witches." Isobel ignored it and continued, "He said that Klaus is willing to grant you your freedom if we deliver the moonstone and the doppleganger."
Katherine felt bad that she would be betraying Erin after she put her trust in her, but she needed to think about herself. "I can get the moonstone." She uttered, and Isobel tsked, "Now, Katherine, you'd be betraying those Salvatore boys again." Katherine tried to explain her feeling towards Isobel, "I was more than willing to play it their way if I had to, but they're floundering. Their witch lost her powers, and they used their only weapon to kill Elijah. If I stick with them, I'm dead. I swear, Erin's the only smart one in that group. You showing up changes everything."
The two then toasted to their upcoming victory, and Katherine smirked at the idea of being free.
"Do you think Isobel's telling the truth that the word is getting out about the doppleganger being alive?" Erin asked her boyfriend and his brother. Stefan and Erin decided to leave Elena at home, even though she wanted to come with them. Her twin knew that she probably just wanted to stare at Damon all day, and for some reason that made her very uncomfortable.
"Look, I don't trust a word she says, but I think we'd be stupid to ignore the warning." Stefan admitted, and Damon added his imput, "I think it's best if you just stay here, it'd be easier for us to keep an eye on you."
Stefan scoffed at his brother's idea and criticized, "What, in a house that any vampire can enter? No! Her house is safer." "Then we'll stay there." Damon stated, and Erin groaned at the conversation. "I'm not a dog! Neither of you are gonna let me out of your sight again, right, is that the plan? That's idiotic." She snapped, and the brothers noticed that she looked like she was under a tremendous amount of stress.
When neither of them said anything, Erin sighed, "Well, one of you body guards are gonna have to escort me to the Lockwood luncheon today." Stefan volunteered, and Damon said, "Not me, I have witch stuff to attend to with Bonnie." Erin nodded, knowing that they were talking about taking Bonnie to the site of the dead witches. The three became silent, and the brothers heard their ex walk into the room.
"Don't go quiet on my account. If you have a plan to combat the impending vampire doom, please do tell." Katherine spoke, and no one answered her. Even Erin remained quiet as her mind went back to Jenna. Katherine then continued, "Seriously, what is the plan to get us out of this mess? I delivered you a moonstone, a werewolf, and a dagger to lure and kill Klaus. And right now, all you have is a moonstone. Of course, that's what you tell me." Damon assured her that they had the moonstone, but when she asked where it was, no one would tell her.
"I've been honest with you and helped Erin, time to return the favor." Katherine bargained, and Damon told, "Let me be honest with you. Don't mistake the fact that we haven't set you on fire in your sleep for trust." Katherine folded her arms and stood tall, and she was about to walk away but she noticed Erin's far off stare.
The vampire asked, "What's wrong with her?" Erin stayed silent and off in her own little world as Katherine stared at her. But, when the vampire snapped her fingers in front of her doppleganger, Erin seemed to go back to reality. "What?" Erin asked, and she quickly apologized for her silence. "Um, I'm gonna go change for the luncheon, and then we can go." She told Stefan, and then she walked up the Boarding house stairs to Stefan's room where she put her dress.
"She's been under a lot of stress lately." Stefan told Katherine, who nodded and felt bad for the teen. Katherine felt a little tug at her heart for Erin, this girl reminded her of herself 500 years ago.
When Stefan and Erin arrived at the Lockwood's, Caroline immediately went up to them. Stefan asked if she found Matt, and the blonde replied, "None. What if he tells somebody? What if he tells everybody?" Stefan questioned Erin, "Do you have any idea where he would be?"
Erin shrugged and responded, "I wish I did, but Matt was never one to run. But, hey, it'll be okay. We'll help you find him, but I just have to accept this thing for Jenna first." Caroline nodded and then left the mansion. Stefan gently rubbed his girlfriend's back and soothed, "Maybe he'll come around, you did." She gave him a small smile in return and took in a deep breath. She could do this.
"And here to accept this check to the Miranda Sommers-Gilbert scholarship fund is Erin Gilbert." Mrs. Lockwood introduced the girl she thought would someday be her daughter in-law. Erin smiled and walked up to the stage as everyone clapped for her. She smiled and hugged Mrs. Lockwood and took the check from her. Erin then gave her speech, "The Historical Society was one of my mom's babies. She considered all of you family, and she would be honored and touched by this gift. I was going to inherit this baby when I hit 18, and I can honestly say that I can't wait to become a part of the Historical Society."
Suddenly, a thud was heard from the stairwell, and everyone turned to see what all the commotion was about. Erin got confused, and when she was about to go see what was going on, her double appeared before her. Katherine wore her clothes and an apologetic expression, "I'm sorry, Erin. It's nothing personal, and it's like you said at the Masquerade Ball, I'll always look out for number one: me."
Katherine then knocked out her doppelganger and changed into her outfit. The vampire then heard Stefan call for his girlfriend, and she sped to grab Erin's phone. He finally noticed her behind him and asked, "You okay?" She nodded and replied, "I'm calling Damon." He then escorted her out as Erin lay unconscious in the backseat of Isobel's car.
Erin's mother picked up her phone, "Are we good to go?" Katherine opened up the house door and replied, "I'm at your house, and hurry. Damon knows your lodging tricks, so it will take him all of 20 minutes to find out where you're staying." The vampire shrugged off her coat as Isobel responded, "We'll be long gone by then."
"Good, how far are you?" Katherine asked, and Isobel apologized as Erin started to wake up, "I'm sorry Katherine, I had to do what I was told. He wanted the moonstone and he wanted you." Isobel then hung up the phone on her old friend.
Isobel pulled into Grove Hill Cemetery, and she and Erin got out of the car. "Just because you can't be compelled, it doesn't mean I can't force you to come with me." Isobel told, and Erin looked around the cemetery.
"So, that's what happened? You were compelled to betray Katherine?" Erin questioned, and Isobel replied coolly, "If I was, I couldn't tell you." The two started walking, and Erin deduced, "So you lied, you did find Klaus, didn't you? He knows where I am now. Are you taking me to him?" When she was greeted with silence, Erin gave up. But, when she saw the grave that said her mother's name, a pit formed in her stomach.
"My parents, your grandparents, they put it here when it became clear the police weren't gonna find my body. They visit every week and they bring flowers even though there's no one buried here. The Isobel they knew is dead, and maybe there's a part of me that's buried here-the human part. The part that I abandoned when I chose to become a vampire, the part that would dream about the day when she'd know her twin daughters." Isobel admitted, and Erin felt sympathy for her mother.
She uttered a 'what', and Isobel shrugged. "And instead you got to meet the other part. The part that would betray her own flesh and blood." Isobel's phone then rang, and she answered it. Erin could see the relief on her face when Isobel asked, "I'm done?" Erin asked who it was on the phone, but Isobel ignored it and said, "I'm so sorry, Erin, that I was such a disappointment to you and Elena."
Erin looked on confusedly as Isobel clutched her necklace, but her questions were answered when her mother ripped it off and started to burn. Isobel screamed, and Erin could do nothing about it. She silently watched as her biological mother, her last mother, caught on fire and died. A tear slid down Erin's cheek as she thought about how life could have been different.
Erin sat at the Boarding House, holding Isobel's daylight necklace in her hand. "Is that Isobel's?" Stefan asked his girlfriend, snapping her out of her thoughts. "I never thought I would feel so bad about her being dead. It's just...in those last moments, I saw a different side of her." Erin admitted, and Stefan understood, "She was your mother."
Elena walked into the Boarding House because Erin called her and told her what happened. "Why did they let you go?" She questioned, and Stefan mulled it over, "I don't know. Whatever John told Isobel, we have to assume Klaus knows. So he knows you're not going to turn yourself into a vampire, he knows you have us keeping you safe." Erin then added, "He knows I'm not gonna run."
Damon then strolled into the room, and spoke, "Which is why we need to take some precautions. Because we got played, all of us." He then put a stack of paper and a pen in Erin's lap, and Elena asked, "What's that?" "It's the deed to our house, it's in Zach's name. As soon as you sign it, it'll be in your name." Stefan answered his ex, who's mouth dropped open.
"She's getting a house! That's so unfair! I want a house!" Elena complained, and Damon rolled his eyes and ignored her. "Isobel had the right idea with the safe house, just stay here until it's all over. That way you get control of who get's invited and who doesn't." Stefan added, and Damon smiled at Erin as he spoke, "Although, I'll be super pissed if you lock me out." Erin laughed a little at that, and was happy that he lifted her spirits for a moment.
John then awoke with a gasp, and Damon rushed over to choke him. Erin called Damon's name, but he focused on John as he pleaded, "I swear, I had no idea what she was going to do. I'm sorry." He said the last part mostly to his daughters, and Erin told Damon to put him down, they needed to talk.
"Isobel and Katherine were two of the most uncaring and selfish vampires, and in the end, they were genuinely friends." John told his daughters, who sat on the couch in front of him. "If that's what you thought of her, why did you put your trust in her at all?" Elena asked, and Erin again stayed quiet, wanting to listen to her father before she made judgments.
John looked at his two beautiful daughters and spoke, "Because...I was there when she gave birth to you two, Elena. I saw how heartbroken she was to give you both up and because she was the first girl I ever loved. And when she said she'd help keep you two safe, I believed her. At this point, I will do whatever you want me to do. Elena, last time you wanted me to go, and I did. It's your turn, Erin. If you feel safer with me not around, then I'll go. Whatever you want."
When Erin looked unsure of herself, her father got up, thinking that he didn't want him there. Her voice stopped him in his tracks, "You always leave, John. No matter what happens, you just go without saying goodbye. But, you're the only parent Elena and I have left. Hopefully, Elena can learn not to hate you, and you can learn not to leave again because I have never not wanted you here, John."
John smiled at his daughter, he finally did something right.