At home, Elena was getting ready to go out. Jeremy was with her. "I can't believe Tyler Lockwood is a werewolf."

"We don't know that for sure." Elena pointed out. "All we know is that Mason is one."

"And we know he's apparently a good guy." Jeremy added.

"Well, I trust him anyway. And if Tyler's got his father's genes, maybe he knows something." Elena said.

"Look, Ty's my friend, okay? I could talk to him about it."

"You know it could be dangerous, right?"

"Who cares? It'd be more dangerous if one of us got bitten by one, right?" Jeremy pointed out.

"You know you don't have to do this."

"I know, but the five of us are still a team." Jeremy pointed out.

"Six of us." Elena reminded him. "You forgot about Care."

"Right, but whatever. It's not like I'm just going to flat-out ask him." He walked out of the room.

Elena opened the door. "Is the coast clear?" She heard a voice ask softly. She walked over and closed her bedroom door.

"Okay, I think you're good now." Elena said. The closet door opened and Stefan walked out.

"We need better hiding places."

"It was either in my wardrobe or under the bed." Elena pointed out.

"You ready?"

"No. I hate fighting with you, even if it's fake."

"I don't like it, either. But if Katherine believes we're fighting, then she'll think she's winning."

"It's still not easy, especially with Caroline spying on us." Elena pointed out.

"We'll be okay, though." Stefan told her. He ran his hand through her hair. "I know keeping up this fight for a while will be tough, but it'll keep Katherine from hurting anyone."

"Just promise me that she won't tear us apart." Elena said. "We can fake a fight, but I wouldn't be able to stand it if I lost you."

"She won't tear us apart." Stefan said. "Besides, you're the one who came up with those safe words so that we don't go too far in the fight."

"Whatever, Stefan." Elena said. She smiled. He smiled back, remembering it was one of the words they'd agreed on.

"I love you, too." He told her. She kissed him.

At the park, Stefan was by himself. He had no idea why he'd signed up to help clean up the park. Then he noticed Mason and walked over to him "Hey."

"Stefan, right? The other Salvatore."

"Yeah, that would be me." Stefan said. "Just you know, my brother doesn't keep secrets from me."

"Yeah, he mentioned that. He also said the next time I go after your girl…"

"Whoa, there's not going to be a next time." Stefan pointed out. "You'll be more careful, then."

"You don't know that."

"Maybe not, but I know you want to protect your family as much as I want to help my friends."

"I don't want this to happen to Tyler."

"He'll be fine as long as he has you to help him." Stefan pointed out.

"It's not that easy, Stefan." Mason said. "There's a reason we refer to the wolf gene as a curse." He picked up the boxes and left.

Damon noticed Mason leaving and walked over to Stefan. "What's going on?"

"Just helping him out." Stefan said. Damon looked at him. "He's unsure of how to help Tyler if he changes."

"If. So, his nephew's not a werewolf?"

"Katherine said something about the gene being in the family, but not all of them being wolves." Stefan remembered. "Maybe there's something else causes the shift besides the full moon."

"Well, we've asked that girl from Duke to send over copies of werewolf notes. Maybe there's something in them that will help us figure out how it's triggered."

At the Grill, Jeremy was getting up to leave, when he noticed Tyler sitting by himself. He walked over to him, and knew he had to be careful around him. He still wasn't sure about anything. "Hey. How have you been?"

"I'm fine, Gilbert." Tyler said. He seemed to be in a bad mood.

"You okay?"

"No, and I don't mean to take it out on you." Tyler said. "Bad day, bad month. Listen, you were cool that day, at the wake. Thanks for that. You and Vicki really helped with that."

"How are you two doing, anyway?" Jeremy asked.

"Still just friends." Tyler said. "She might be seeing counselors, but I think she's still got some issues under the surface."

"Yeah, I know what that's like." Jeremy said, remembering how rough it'd been when he'd first turned. "What brings you here?"

"Just trying to get my mind off things." Tyler told him. Jeremy wanted to ask him if he knew anything, when two girls approached their table.

"Hey, guys."

"So, what's going on?"

"My mom's out all day." Tyler said. "We can all hang out together."

"Sounds cool."

"You in?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah."

"Then let's go." The girls said. The guys left with them.

Back at the park, Elena and Caroline had were carrying paint supplies over to the wall where they'd be working. "So suddenly, she's on the running for mother of the year just when I'm trying to avoid her the most." Caroline said. Elena was barely listening. "I'm babbling, you don't want to hear all this."

"No, sorry. Then what happened?" Elena asked.

"Well, I was a bitch but it's part of the process." Elena almost wanted to laugh at that statement. "So, how are things between you and Stefan?"

"He's been avoiding me since the fight." Elena lied, hoping that her acting skills were working. "He's been dodging my calls and blowing me off just because he thinks Katherine might try to kill me."

"Well, Katherine is dangerous. Maybe he's doing the right thing." Caroline told her. She knew that Katherine got to her, then. She could see the fear in Care's eyes when she mentioned her name.

"I know she's dangerous, but I also know he's trying to protect me, but it feels as though he's given up on us." She explained.

Meanwhile, Damon noticed Sheriff Forbes talking with Mason. He left her standing there. He decided to talk to her and walked over. "Hey, I noticed you and Mason talking. What's going on?"

"I just asked him to help with the cleanup in the woods." She told him.

"Do you want me to help him?" He asked her. He wanted to get to know Mason better, knowing he wasn't their enemy now.

"No, I think he…he can handle it." Damon looked at her. She seemed distracted and kind of upset.

"Are you okay, Liz? You seem a little upset."

"It's Caroline." Liz explained. "We had a moment."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No, Damon. Thank you. It's just the horrible parental skills paying off." She told him.

"Hey, I get it. It took me time to get used to looking after my brother." He said. He started to walk toward where Caroline and Elena were.

The girls were painting. Elena looked over her shoulder at Stefan, who was working a few feet away. Caroline caught her looking, which is what she'd hoped. "Uh oh. Longing looks are being exchanged."

"I'm gonna go talk to him." Elena said.

"No, Elena. I think it's a bad idea." Caroline said, trying to keep her from going. She shrugged her off and walked toward Stefan.

Damon walked over to Caroline, having noticed the struggle. "What's her problem?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Why are you being such a bitch to your mom?" Damon asked.

"Like you're one to lecture me on how hard she has it." Caroline said sarcastically. He glared at her and she realized she'd hit a weak point, accidentally.

"Do you still have feelings for Katherine?" Elena asked Stefan. They agreed that would start their argument-for today, at least.

"Of course I don't, but she's still very dangerous." He pointed out. "Don't make this harder than this has to be."

"So, this isn't up for discussion. Is that what you're saying?" Elena asked.

"No, I'm saying it's not up for discussion right now, because people might be listening." Stefan told her. Elena looked to where Caroline was. Sure enough, she saw Caroline turn back to her work and pretend to paint as though she wasn't listening to their argument.

"Okay, when should we talk?"

"We can't, you know it's too risky." He pointed out. Translation: We need to be more careful, I think she's getting suspicious. Elena nodded once.

"It's like we could've been twins, though." Elena said. "We almost look exactly the same. How can you hate her and be in love with me?" She hoped was pulling off this acting thing right. "Are you projecting you're feelings for her onto me?"

"What?" Elena glared at him. At that second, his phone buzzed. He subtly looked at the text message: Just go along with it. Stefan looked at her, getting it now. "No, well, I don't know…"

"Do you still care about her more than me?"

"I can't do this right now, Elena."

"Fine, Stefan. Whatever." Elena said. She walked off, pretending to be angry with him.

Meanwhile, Damon was with Caroline. "Look, I don't know what's going on with you and I know you have to keep your secret, but you could give your mom a break." Damon said. "Being a single parent is rough."

"Are you just saying that because you're Stefan's legal guardian?" She asked, still painting.

"No, it's because I know how hard life is. We weren't all that close before." Damon told her. "When we lost our parents, we were all we had. I'm saying this because you clearly don't understand, you should be grateful for the time you do get with your mom while you still have her." Caroline looked back at where Stefan was standing. She took off running at normal speed, after Elena.

He watched her run off, then headed back to where the other families were.

Jeremy and Tyler were hanging out with the girls, Sarah and Aimee. "I would've invited Vic, but she can't get off work."

"Yeah, somehow, I think our new friends here would be jealous." Jeremy said. Aimee walked over to Tyler while Jeremy sat down.

"Thanks for having us over. I think Sarah got a thing for Jeremy." He overheard her telling him. He blushed. Sarah noticed Jeremy's notebook.

"Can I see?"

"No way." Jeremy said, holding it out of reach.

"Oh, come on, Jer." Aimee said.

"Yeah, show us what you've been up to." Tyler said. Jeremy looked at him. Ever since they discovered their mutual interest in art, they'd email pictures that they'd made.

"Oh, all right." Jeremy said. He opened it to his most recent set. There was a lone white wolf standing by a water fall in one. Another one showed a black wolf in the woods.

"Huh, looks like someone's into nature." Jeremy looked at Tyler. He seemed a little uncomfortable.

"What is this?" Tyler asked, looking at the drawing.

"Just something I'd seen recently." Jeremy said. "Do you still draw?"

"Yes." Tyler said. "You know, I'd been working on something. I'll show you, in private."

"Okay." Jeremy said. He followed him into the next room. Tyler closed the door.

"Okay, what were those pictures all about?" Tyler asked.

"What do you mean?" Jeremy said.

"Why wolves?" Tyler grabbed him, but Jeremy pushed him off easily. He seemed surprised.

"Okay, calm down." Jeremy said.

"What do you know, Jeremy?" Tyler asked, still surprised at how strong he was.

"I know you're secret." Jeremy told him. "I'll tell you how much I know if you promise never to tell anyone about this fight." Tyler nodded.

Back at the park, Damon walked over to Mason. "Hey."

"Hi."

"I saw you talking with Stefan earlier. What was that about?"

"Pretty much the same thing I told you the other day." He said. "I'll see you around." He headed back toward the woods. Stefan walked over to him.

"Looks like you two are getting along well."

"Wish I could say the same for you and your girlfriend." Damon said. "What were you two fighting about, anyway?"

"Katherine." Stefan told him. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"Hey, no matter what happens with you two, I'm here for you." Damon told him. Stefan nodded, feeling a little guilty about lying to his brother. But he knew it was for the best.

Elena sat at the woods, near a small stream. She was still angry with Caroline, but understood why she was doing this. She was also a little relieved that the plan was working though.

"Are you okay?" Caroline asked, sitting next to her.

"No." She said.

"You know, maybe it's for the best."

"How is this for the best?" Elena snapped. "None of this is okay." She took a deep breath. "Sorry, I don't mean to take it out on you. You're just trying to be a friend."

"I'm not a very good friend." Caroline said. She knew she felt guilty for what she was doing, but she also knew it wasn't her fault that Katherine was blackmailing her. Then she looked up.

"What is it?" Elena asked.

"My mom." Elena followed her gaze and saw the sheriff standing a distance away from them.

"Are you okay?" She asked her, concerned.

"Yeah." Caroline said. "I've got to make things right with her." She got up.

"I'm coming with you." Elena told her. "If you need any support."

"Are you sure you want to come?" Caroline asked her.

"Of course I do. No matter what you've done, you're still a friend." Caroline seemed surprised.

"Okay, I think there's a shortcut around here."

Back at the Lockwood House, Jeremy and Tyler were talking. "How do you know about me?" Tyler asked.

"Uncle John had this old journal." Jeremy explained. "It was written by an ancestor who wrote about this curse in your family, about werewolves. I know it's crazy, but then the other day my sister was nearly attacked by a wolf during the full moon."

"I was there when it happened."

"Is it true?" Jeremy asked him.

"About Uncle Mason? Yeah." Tyler said.

"But you're not a…" Jeremy began to ask.

"A wolf? Sorry, a werewolf? No." He said. "I mean, not yet. Just saying it out loud, I sound crazy."

"You're not crazy." Jeremy said. "I've witnessed stranger things before. Compared to that, you're normal."

"According to my uncle, you trigger the curse by killing someone." Tyler explained. "It doesn't matter if it's an accident. If I kill someone, the next full moon, I'll be a wolf."

"You really think he's here to help you?" Jeremy asked. He was slightly disturbed by this information. He knew that a wolf bite would be fatal to him, but he also didn't want to lose one of his closest friends.

"I think that Mason does want to help me, but I also feel like he has a hidden agenda, too." Tyler said.

"What do you mean?" Jeremy asked him.

"I caught him looking for this the other night." Tyler said, showing him a white rock with a clear surface.

In the woods, the girls were following the path. Elena tripped over what seemed to be the third tree branch so far. "Caroline, are you sure you know where we're going?" She asked her, brushing the dust off her clothes.

"Well, I've only taken this shortcut once before." Caroline admitted. "These woods all look the same to me."

"Great." Elena said. She sat down. "I've been out in these woods so many times, and this is officially the first time I've ever gotten lost in them."

Then they heard a rustling in the bushes. Elena tensed. "What are you two doing out here?" She was relieved that it was only Mason.

"Taking the longest shortcut ever." She told him. Caroline shrugged.

"I'm bad with directions. So sue me." She said.

"Have you seen Sheriff Forbes?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, she's in the clearing, near the old family cell" He told them. "If you take the path over there." He pointed to a trail on their left. "You'll find her."

"Come on, Elena." Caroline said. They started to head down the path he pointed out. She turned around. "Thank you." Then she continued following after Elena.

Following his directions, they finally made it to the clearing. "Over there." Elena pointed.

Caroline seemed hesitant, but she walked over to her anyway. "Are you sure you want me here?" Elena asked.

"Yes."

That's when she turned around and noticed the girls. "What are you doing out here?"

"Being supportive." Elena said, pushing Caroline to go to her.

"Hi, Mom." Elena watched as they talked, deciding not to eavesdrop on them. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and grabbed the person's arm.

"Easy, Elena." She relaxed.

"How'd you two find us out here?" Elena asked.

"Mason told us you'd gotten lost in the woods and led us here." Damon explained. "Of course, as soon as we got here, we lost him."

"We were worried about Caroline."

She and Sheriff Forbes walked over to them. "I've been having a rough time since the incident." Caroline was telling her.

"I get it, Care. Sometimes, you need your space."

"Hey, I'm just glad I have you for a mom."

Elena smiled. She looked over at Damon. "You didn't have anything to do with this, did you?"

"Hey, I'm capable of being sensitive."

"Yeah, he just doesn't like showing it." Stefan added. Elena hit him lightly on the shoulder.

"They're having a moment." She pointed out. "Don't ruin it." They watched as Caroline and her mother made up.

Jeremy was looking at the rock that Tyler had showed him. "What is it?" He asked.

"It's a moonstone." Tyler explained. "I looked it up online. It's a natural rock but there are all these supernatural legends attached to them."

"Why didn't you give it to him?" Jeremy asked him.

"While I believe that Mason's here to help, I don't entirely trust him." Tyler told him. "And for some reason, he's after this rock. I'm not just going to hand it over until I know I can trust him."

"You know you can trust me, right? I won't tell anyone about this." Jeremy said. He felt bad that he'd have to hide it from Elena, since they never kept secrets, but Tyler was also his friend.

"Yeah, and what was that earlier?" Tyler asked him. "When I grabbed you, you were pretty strong."

"Can we keep that just between us?" Jeremy said. "Look, I want to tell you everything, but I'd be in huge trouble if I did."

"Got it. I won't say anything. So, you been working out lately?"

"Something like that." Jeremy said. He figured he should keep his own supernatural abilities a secret from him, unless there was a problem and he really had to tell him.

A few hours later, Caroline showed up at the Boarding House. "Hey."

"What are you doing here?" Elena asked.

"I told my mom I'd be staying at your place for a few days. And I wanted to talk to you." Caroline said. She tried to step inside, but couldn't.

"Hang on." Elena said. She walked into the hallway. When she returned, Stefan was with her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Feeling guilty."

"Come in and you two can talk about it." Caroline stepped inside the house.

"Why couldn't I…"

"Vampires need to be invited into a person's home by someone that lives there." Elena explained. "Come on, I think they'll give us privacy in the living room."

"Where's Damon?"

"I think he went to your place to talk with your mom about a few things." Elena told her. She pinched the bridge between her nose and forehead. Ever since their little hike through the woods, she'd felt weak and tired.

The girls sat down in the living room. "So, why are you really here?" Elena asked.

"To apologize for being such a bitch to everyone lately." Caroline said. "And because I'm afraid to sleep at home."

"Why?" Elena asked. She was concerned, even if her friend was working with Katherine. "What has you so scared about being in your own house?"

"Because Katherine's going to be there." Caroline said. "She told me I had to spy on you and report back to her. She's going to want to know everything that happened today."

"I know that." Elena said. "I figured it's why you'd been acting so strangely even after the five of us have been helping you. Then I realized that she must've done something to get a hold on you. Who did she threaten?"

"Matt." Caroline said so quietly that even with her vampire hearing, Elena barely heard it. "She threatened Matt. I'm so scared of her." Elena held her as she started to cry.

"We're all scared of her, Care. It's okay."

"Why is she doing this? What does she want?" Caroline asked.

"That's what we're trying to figure out. We have no idea."

A few hours later, Caroline had fallen asleep on the couch. Elena folded a blanket over her and headed into the hallway. Damon entered the house then. "Caroline's asleep on the couch. It's been a rough day for her."

"I can imagine it has been." He said.

"I'm going home. Thanks for helping her fix things with her mom."

"Relationships like that are important. You know that." Elena smiled, trying not to think of her own parents. She started to leave.

"I think you might want to check on Stefan." He continued. "I get that you're not together anymore, but someone has to talk to him." Elena paused, worried. What the heck had happened in the short time she was gone?

Stefan was sitting alone in his room when she entered. "I'm fine, if that's what you're thinking."

"It's me." Elena told him. He turned around. "Are you okay?"

"I think I hurt my ankle." He told her.

"Let me see." She sat down next to him. "Where does it hurt?"

"Ow!"

"Sorry!" Elena said as he winced in pain.

"It's okay, it's okay."

"That is not okay. You're hurt. I think it's just sprained." She realized how close they were sitting and backed away slightly. If Damon walked in, then they'd be caught.

Then she felt a slight headache. "Are you okay?" Stefan asked her.

"Yeah, it's just been a really long, really stressful day." She told him. She started to get up, but he grabbed her arm.

"Hey, when's the last time you fed?" He asked.

"A couple days ago. With Katherine around, we've been trying to keep even more of a low profile." Elena told him.

"Elena…"

"Stefan, don't. You know what happened last time."

"You need help, Elena. Let me help you." She sighed, knowing that he was right. "You should probably go first, I don't want you to pass out if you try to help me."

He held out his hand. Elena bit into his wrist and began to drink from him. After a couple of minutes, she withdrew her fangs from him and kissed his hand. Then, she bit into her own wrist and gave her blood to Stefan, to heal him. The two of them looked at each other.

"Thanks." Elena said. He ran his hand through her hair and pulled a leaf out of it.

"Were you hiking or visiting your parents?" He asked her. She laughed, causing him to smile.

She looked at him, knowing that even though they were "fighting", he was a great guy and knew that Katherine couldn't separate them, no matter what. She leaned forward and kissed him. She felt him respond with equal passion.

"Elena…" She broke the kiss and separated from him, startled.

"Did you say something?" Elena asked him. Stefan shook his head. Then she remembered something she read when she was studying up on vampirism. Then, with her thoughts, she decided to try something. Without speaking, she projected one word. "Stefan?"

He looked at her, surprised. "Elena?" He thought back. They both looked at each other, in shock.

"Wait, that feeling of fear I'm getting, is that coming from you?" Elena thought. Stefan nodded.

"You're panicking inside."

"Well, so are you. Wait, why do I know that? Unless…" Elena stood up. "Uh oh."

"What is it?"

"The blood bond." She thought to him. "It's back."