At school, Elena and Stefan were in the cafeteria. Elena was already running late for helping the others with the float designs. Alaric walked over to them. "Hey, Mr. Saltzman."

"Come with me. We need to talk." The two of them looked at each other and followed him into the classroom. A few minutes later Damon showed up.

"Sorry I'm late. What's going on?" He asked, noticing the concerned looks on everyone's faces.

"I saw Isobel last night." Alaric said.

"Isobel's here? In town?" Damon asked.

"Apparently." Elena said.

"So, what is she doing here anyway?" Damon asked.

"She wants to see me." Elena answered.

"Alaric is supposed to arrange the meeting." Stefan told him. "We don't know why or what she wants."

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to, you know." Damon said.

"I have no choice, Damon." Elena said.

"She threatened to go on a killing spree." Alaric explained.

"Oh."

"I have to do this." Elena said. "Besides, it's about time we met anyway."

At the Grill, Elena was waiting for Isobel. "Hey, thanks for coming." She said.

"No problem. I just hope your boyfriend doesn't mind filling in for me helping the others at school." She heard her brother respond. She'd asked Jeremy to come for support.

A woman with long dark hair came sat down. "Hello Elena." She looked at her. "You look just like her, that's eerie."

"You've met Katherine?"

"She found me after I turned." Isobel explained. "She'd be fascinated by you."

"Is that how you can walk in the day?" Elena asked, looking at her necklace.

"Katherine helped me obtain it."

"Who's my father?"

"Not important. He was a waste of space."

"A name would be nice." Elena said, getting angry.

"You ask a lot of questions." Isobel noted.

"Do humans mean nothing to you?" Elena asked, though she had a feeling she knew the answer.

"Means nothing at all. It's part of who I am."

"That's not true, I know other vampires."

"You mean like you're little friend over there?" Isobel asked.

"My brother, yes." Elena said. "And a few others."

"I'm surprised you're even dating a human at all." Isobel said. "Don't you know it would never work?" Elena looked at her, surprised by her coldness.

Outside, the Salvatores were with Alaric. "We should be in there." Damon said.

"No, Isobel made it clear we're not to step a foot inside." Alaric told him.

"It's not like we're planning to kill her or anything." Damon said. Alaric looked at him.

"You'll have to excuse my brother. He's a little insensitive sometimes." Stefan told him.

"She was my wife, you know." Alaric pointed out. "I looked for the woman I married, but she's not there. Whoever that is, she's cold and detached."

"Sounds like she's given up her humanity." Damon said.

"That's what I don't get." Alaric said. "The Gilbert kids have their humanity and their good people, but with her there was nothing."

"Well, the Gilberts are young and only have months of experience." Damon said. "A lot of vampires choose to turn it off, not feel anything. I guess it's why most of them decide to prey on others." Stefan looked over at his brother. He wondered that if Jeremy or Elena decided to turn it off, would he ever go after them?

Back inside, Elena was still talking with Isobel. "Why did you want to meet me? Can't be to just catch up." Elena said.

"Because I'm curious about you." Isobel said. "But the real reason is: I want what your uncle wants. Jonathan Gilbert's invention." That surprised Elena.

"How do you know my uncle?"

"I used to spend a lot of time here when I was younger. John had a crush on me for years. He was the first one that told me about vampires."

"So what made you want to be one?" Elena asked.

"It's a very long list of reasons, Elena. All of which I'm sure you've thought about." Isobel said. "Isn't that why you're one?"

"No." Elena told her firmly. "There was an incident, and the next thing I knew, my brother and I were turned."

"Yet you still try to remain human." Isobel said. "It's inevitable though, Stefan will get older, but you won't." Jeremy glanced at Elena. He knew she was hiding her sadness because she didn't want Isobel to see it.

"I'm sorry but I don't have what you're looking for." Elena said. She got up, but Isobel grabbed her arm. Elena managed to push her off.

"Strong, aren't you?" Isobel commented. "I want the invention."

"I don't have it." Elena told her.

"I know that but Damon does and you're going get it for me." Isobel pointed out.

"He's not going to give it to me." Elena said.

"Then the blood will be on your hands." Isobel told her. She got up. "It was nice meeting you, Elena."

Jeremy went over to Elena. "You okay?" She shook her head and fell into his arms, practically collapsing in tears. Just then, Bonnie noticed them.

"Elena? What happened?"

"We just had a run-in with her birth mother." Jeremy explained. "It wasn't pretty."

"Come on, you can tell me about it on the way home." Bonnie said, holding her friend.

"I'll let the guys know what happened." Jeremy told Elena. Elena nodded to him, not trusting her voice.

A few hours after explaining everything to the guys, Jeremy was headed upstairs. He was on the phone. "Hey, Anna. We have a lot of catching up to do. Please call me when you get this." He hadn't seen Anna in a few days. The two of them had started seeing each other, but she hadn't been answering his calls lately.

"So, how's Anna?" Jenna asked him. "I like that girl. She's got a lot of spark."

"I don't know." Jeremy told her. "She hasn't answered any of my calls."

"Girl trouble?" He turned around in surprise, finding Uncle John standing there.

"No, no trouble. Anna just owes me a call, that's it." Jeremy told him.

"Is that the girl that I show you with at the founder's pageant?" Jeremy nodded. "You two are getting hot and heavy. When was the last time you saw her?"

"Why?" Jeremy asked him. He seemed suspicious.

"I was just making conversation. No one else in this house likes me. At least I can talk to you especially if you need someone to talk to about girls." John told him

"Oh please! I'm eating." Jenna pointed out. She got up and left the kitchen.

"So seriously, how well do you know Anna?" John asked.

"I know Anna extremely well." Jeremy told him, trying to control his anger.

"I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything. I'm here to answer any questions that you have, to help you in any way I can." John said.

"Why?"

"Because your dad would want me to."

"You don't know what my dad would want." Jeremy told him. "We're actually a lot better off without you." He left the room and headed upstairs.

Isobel entered her house and was surprised to see Damon talking to one of her friends. "So you don't know why she's here?"

"No."

"Well, this is a surprise." Isobel said. "Cherie, could you give us a moment?" She left the room.

"Nice to see you're alive, Isobel." Damon said. "I see you're compelling your little helpers."

"How'd you find me?" Isobel asked.

"I know all the vampire tricks, remember?" Damon told her.

"Right. I forgot you were the vampire tracking expert." Isobel said. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I heard you about your little threat, so I decided to pay a visit." Damon said. "After all, I did try to save you once."

"So, I hear you have the device." Isobel told him.

"I don't have it with me." Damon told her. "I did a little bit of digging around. How do you know John Gilbert?"

"We dated a few times when we were in high school." Isobel explained. "He was a little bit in love with me."

"One of many guys, I'm sure." He pointed out, remembering Alaric. "What do you want with this thing anyway?"

"Personally, I don't want anything with it." Isobel said. "Though we're on the same side."

"Really? How do I know that?"

"Katherine wanted John to have the device."

"You're doing her dirty work now?" Damon asked. "How typical." He walked out of the room, then he turned around. "Look, you better leave your daughter alone and stop threatening people in this town. Otherwise, I will hunt you down and stake you personally."

Elena was in the living room with Bonnie. "Are you okay?" Bonnie asked her. "I know I've been distant lately and it's partially my own fault. I should've been a better friend."

"It's not you're fault, Bonnie." Elena told her. "But if we don't give Isobel the device, she'll start hurting people."

"Then I'll help you look for it." Bonnie said. "I think I know a way to find it."