Twisted Love
Season One
A Few Good Men
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Vampire Diaries Characters, I only own Grace :)
In the tomb one of the Vampires named Harper grabs the bag of blood that Damon had brought to save Fayth, and begins to suck the remains out of it before throwing it to the floor and leaving the tomb, the seal obviously did not stay up.
He wanders around the forest all night until he begins to smell something delectable. Someone delectable. It was a hiker out for an early morning stroll through the woods.
"Jeez! You scared me." He human male smiled
"Do you know what day it is?" The weak Vampire questioned
"It's Saturday." The man replied
"And what year?" Harper asked again
"It's 2010." The hiker eyed the man carefully "Are you ok?"
"Thank you." Harper nodded before turning
"Wait, what's you're name?" The man questioned this time
"It's Harper, sir." The half cast Vampire nodded
"How did you get out here? And why are you dressed like that?" The hiker looked at Harper's torn and old clothes, he looked like he was from the 1800s
You seem like a very nice person." Harper stated taking a step towards the man "I am sorry."
"Sorry for what?" The Hiker smiled
Harper went on to attack the man, rip into his neck and drain him completely of his blood, once he was done with the feeding Harper undressed the man and used his clothes as his own. The vampire felt a heavy object in one of the mans pocket, he pulled it out to reveal a cell phone
"Hey, Bonnie, it's me just checking in, seeing how you're doing." Elena spoke to Bonnie's voicemail whilst Grace sat next to her playing with her laces "We miss you here. Don't let you Aunt drive you too crazy. Come home soon. Love you." Elena hung up looking at Grace "Hey, you ok?"
"Fine." She sighed "Could do with a girly night and ice cream." She noted
"We will." Elena pushed her twin jokingly "Everything is going to be ok, you know that right?"
"I wanted him gone, but now he isn't I can't get him off my mind." Grace noted "I should be absolutely livid with him, but after all he's been through... all I want to do it run to him and hug him again." she admitted "Is that bad?"
"Kind of." Elena nodded "You just care too much."
"I can't help it, I'm human." Grace informed her leaning back on the swing chair that they were sitting on
"What was going through you're mind at Sheila's funeral?" Elena asked
"I was thinking about my adoption parents... Then I started to think why Heidi wasn't there." Grace informed her twin
"I was thinking about my adoption parents, too." Elena nodded
"What are you two doing out here?" Jenna stepped outside wrapping herself in a blanket
"Talking, writing." Elena tapped her pen against her journal "The funeral for Bonnie's grandma, it brought back a lot of memories, about out adoption parents." Elena told her glancing at Grace who was now biting her nails staring off into a distance it a habit of hers when she was thinking really hard "I was wondering. You said that you would do some digging about them..."
"Right." Jenna nodded
"So did you? Dig?" Elena asked again
"Come inside." Jenna told them
Elena got up first and kicked Grace's foot to get her attention, she snapped out of her trance and they all walked back in the house
"Elena, your dad kept everything from his medical practice – records, logs, old appointment books. I found an entry from the night you two were born. Patient and a birth day. Isobel Peterson." Jenna told them slowly
"Do you think that's her real name?" Grace hopped up onto the countered, Elena stood next to her wondering the same thing
"Pregnant teenage runaway? Probably not. First name, maybe. But where's she got Peterson? Classmate? Best friend? So I binged it." Jenna turned her laptop around "I searched for all the Peterson's in this area born the same year as Isobel, found 3 – 2 men and a woman, Trudie, who lived in Grove Hill, Virginia."
"That's not far from here." Elena announced looking up at Grace who nodded in agreement
"Well, watch this." Jenna began typing until she brought up a picture of two women
"Isobel." Elena whispered
"She was a cheerleader?" Grace questioned
"Trudie still lives there." Jenna turned to them "This is her address." she handed them a pink sticky note
"What about Isobel?" Elena questioned
"I couldn't find anything about her. Listen, there's something else. Mr. Saltzman, Ric, his wife was from around here, and her name was also Isobel..."
"Wait... 'was' as in..." Grace cocked an eye brow
"She died." Jenna nodded
"I'm going out for a while." Grace told Elena
"Where?" Elena asked
"Just out." She replied before
Elena was packing some of her clothes away and Stefan had come to visit her, he was sitting on her bed just after she told him what Jenna had told her
"So... Alaric's wife might be your mother?" Stefan asked
"It can't be true, right? I mean, the coincidence alone is just crazy. I have this address of her friend Trudie..." Elena held up the sticky note "
"You want to talk to her." Stefan nodded
"I don't know. I... I – I don't know. If it's true and they are the same person, that means that mine and Grace's birthmother is dead, and I don't know if I can handle that..." Elena admitted "I'm not sure if Grace can handle that... She's been through a lot."
"You both have." Stefan nodded "Elena, did Jenna tell you anything about Alaric's wife? How she died?"
"Just that she was killed and the case was never solved. You knew that already?" Elena questioned
"The night at the school when he attacked me, he told me somethings about her death." Stefan told the brunette
"Well..." She pried
"No, no. It's not possible. The coincidence is – it's too much. Now, listen, if you do decide to go to talk to Isobel's friend with Grace, I'll go with you. Ok?" Stefan smiled
"I just don't know what I am going to do yet." Elena sighed
"I should get going..." Stefan noted "I got to go deal with Damon."
"How is he doing? Grace is... worried." Elena nodded
"He's dealing with it in his own way." Stefan nodded
Grace walked into the Salvatore Boarding House to hear the loud blast of music and the giggling of girls. She walked through the house and into the library to see Damon feeding off one of the many girls in the room
"Ah, it's my little telepath." Damon smirked pulling his lips from the girls throat
"Damon?" She asked looking at him stepping in the room a little more to look at the model like girls dancing around the room
He zipped in front of her with a grin on his face, he was a messy eater, blood covered his mouth, dripping down his chin, she quickly dried the blood with the sleeve of her shirt
"What can I do for you?" Damon asked leaning close to the brunette
Grace went to step back but hit the wall as she did, he smirked and eyed her body carefully, she took a deep breath, but he could see that she was just trying to be tough
"I'm just concerned, Damon." She breathed
"You're worried about me." He teased "That's nice. Don't be. I'm fine..." he grinned at her playing with the ends of her chocolate brown hair "Why wouldn't I be? You know, I spent the last 145 years with one goal, get in that tomb. I succeeded. Granted, Fayth wasn't in there to be rescued, but why dwell? No, it's so liberating not having a master plan, because I can do whatever the hell I want." He pulled her close to him
"That's what I'm afraid of." She whispered prying herself from his arms
"Relax." Damon breathed against her slender neck "I haven't killed anyone in – too long." he noted
"What are you going to do with those girls?" Grace asked scared for their fate
"They, my dear sweet telepath." With every sweet word he pressed a small kiss to the base of her throat whilst rubbing gently circles with his thumb on her hip "Will end up in their dorm with headaches, think they blacked out. Business as usual."
"Damon." Stefan walked into the room
"No. It's Buzzkill Bill." Damon moaned pulling away from Grace's sweet smelling neck
She gulped heavily before looking over at Stefan "You ok?" he asked her
"Never better." She hiccuped
"I'll give you a ride home." Stefan offered
"Thanks." Grace smiled before stumbling from the room
"First, she came to see me, so none of that 'leave the telepath alone' crap." Damon hissed "What do you want, Stefan?"
"There was a woman you may have known a few years back named Isobel in North Carolina at Duke." Stefan attempted to jog his memory
"You want to discuss the woman in my past right now? Seriously?" Damon spat
"You killed her." Stefan stated
"What's your point?" Damon rolled his eyes
"I just – I just want to know if you remember anything about her." The younger brother shrugged
"Oh, it's like a needle in a haystack, Stefan." Damon replied
"Well, think hard, it's important." The hazel eyed boy stated
"Nothing is important, not anymore. Great char. I have to go and exploit some women in the name of grief, if you're feeling really kind, send Grace back in, I can think of a lot of fun that I can have with her." Damon smirked before returning to his college girls
Meanwhile at the Donovan household Matt and Caroline were lounging on the couch, all alone, in an empty house.
She sighed heavily to get his attention "What?" He laughed
"This is boring. I'm bored." She stated unhappily
"Wow." Matt looked at her
"But we have this entire house to ourselves. I mean, it's practically a bachelor pad." She flirted with him
"And..." he smirked
"So should we do something a little more bachelor-paddy?" She questioned flirtatiously
"What? Something like this?" He pressed his lips against hers
"Something like that." She muttered pulling back biting her bottom lip sexily
"I don't know." He teased "This is a pretty good show." He joked
"Seriously?" She laughed
Matt and Caroline began to make out, he lay her back on the couch and he gets between her creamy legs before taring off his shirt throwing it to the floor, she ran her finger tips down his abs before taking her turquoise blue shirt off, too.
"Oh, God." A noise came from the doorway "Not on my couch."
"Mom." Matt manoeuvred himself to cover Caroline's petite body "Hey." he greeted her awkwardly
Jenna and Alaric stood outside of the Grill hanging up a banner that read 'MYSTIC FALLS ANNUAL FOUNDER'S DAY FUNDRAISER. Silent Auction. Bachelor Raffle.'
"I don't know it's just weird, you know?" Alaric asked Jenna "Me being raffled off like a Disney Cruise." He joked
"In this town, fund-raising is like indentured servitude." Jenna smirked "You don't have a choice. Besides, you're a bachelor, and you're eligible, so there you go." She shrugged struggling to tie up her side of the banner
"Here, let me help." Alaric took the strings and tied them
Both Jenna and Alaric stood looking into each others eyes for a long five seconds before Alaric tilted his head and stole a kiss from her waiting lips, she smiled hugely as he pulled back from the tender kiss.
"Oh, God." She breathed "I can't believe I'm going to do this."
"What?" Alaric smirked
"I'm totally going to ruin this moment." She admitted "But I have to tell you. Grace and Elena recently found out they're adopted and that... well they're twins too. They've been looking for their birth mother... whose name was Isobel." Jenna eyed Alaric carefully
"Isobel? Like my wife? Isobel never had a baby." Alaric shook his head
"Are you sure? Not before you were together?" Jenna asked
"Nope. No way." Alaric was certain
Jenna takes the picture of Isobel out of her bag, it was the cheerleading picture, Alaric let out a shaky breath as he saw his wife smiling back at him in the photo
"Ah, she, uh – she never told me." Alaric stated "I, uh – I'm gonna go. Yeah, I'm gonna – gonna go." he nodded before leaving
Elena and Grace go up to the house Jenna had told them about, Grace takes a deep breath as she knocks the door gently
"Trudie? Trudie Peterson?" Elena asked
"Uh, my name is Elena Gilbert and this is my sister Grace Gilbert... I wanted to talk to you about Isobel Flemming." She told her politely
"Well, I haven't heard that name is years. How do you know her?" Trudie questioned looking at the girls curiously
"I think that, uh..." Elena was at a loss or words
"Do you know if Isobel had babies that she gave up for adoption?" Grace asked quickly
"My God." Trudie whispered "You're her daughters... I was just going to make some tea. Would you like some?" She questioned
Elena looked at Grace "Sure, thanks." Elena answered
"Uh, the kitchen's this way." Trudie moved out of the way of the door
Grace walked in first and Elena stepped in after closing the door behind them. Trudie lead the way to the kitchen, it was a pretty house, lots of pictures of family and friends, yet open and spacious
"We weren't going to come. I mean, we were driving and hit this stoplight, and it made me think about when I was learning to drive and how my mom would always warn me about this blind turn of the lift-hand side, and then I was thinking about my mom, and I – well, we had your address..." Elena was rambling as she took a seat
"She's trying to say sorry for barging in." Grace laughed sitting next to Elena patting her hand gently
"It's not problem. Just a surprise." Trudie giggled "I haven't thought about Isobel in years..."
"When was the last time you saw her?" Grace asked
"About 17 years ago, when she left to go have you both... We kept in touch for a while, but, well, you know, people drift apart." Trudie shrugged
"And you don't know where she ended up?" Elena asked
"She was in Florida for a while. She was on her own. I know it wasn't easy..." Trudie told them
"Do you have any idea who our Father was?" Elena asked
"I could never get her to fess up... Anyway, she finally pulled it together, got into college on a scholarship." Trudie remembered
"Where did she go?" Grace asked
"Somewhere in North Carolina. Duke, I think." Trudie nodded "Smart girl, smart school. Let me just grab that." she stated as she walked into the kitchen to tend to the tea
"There's something not right..." Grace whispered to Elena
"What do you mean?" Elena whispered back
"I can sense something is wrong, her emotions are all over the place, she can't stick on one picture in her head, she knows..." Grace whispered
"That you're..." Elena's eyes widened "No, she can't, how?"
"Why else would someone try to throw them off a trail? She knows something and is trying to lead my in another direction." Grace noted before it all clicked "She didn't invite us in, Elena. She knows..."
"What?" Elena scoffed
"She didn't invite us-" Grace was cut off by Elena's foot stubbing her toe "Ah." She whispered
"Tea." Trudie walked back in the room
"So it's been a few months, where have you been?" Matt asked his mother
"Ah, you know, here and there, never one place too long. You know Pete." She grinned at her son
"No, actually, I don't." Matt replied bluntly "Because you never brought him around."
"So Blonde's the new flavour of the month, huh?" Kelly flashed Matt a look "So sorry I scared her off."
"She's not a flavour, mom. I like her." Matt stated proudly
"So she's the one?" Kelly teased
"No, probably not, but maybe." He shrugged
"Matty, seriously? Lezzie Forbes' daughter? Ugh." She shivered as he reached for the Vodka and a glass
"Mom, seriously, knock it off." Matt warned
"Ice, please." She held her glass towards him and Matt pour some ice in, as he shut the freezer door he notice the picture of him, Vicki and Kelly on the door stuck on with a smiley face magnet
"So, uh, You heard from Vic?" Matt asked passing his mother her glass
"no." Sh replied pouring Vodka into her glass "but don't worry. She'll come home eventually when she needs something. I played that game."
"Are you playing it now?" Matt asked
"No." She shook her head
"Then what are you doing home?" Matt asked frustrated by his mother presence
"You trying to tell me I need a reason to come back? Sit down. Eat with me." Kelly smiled at her son "Tell me everything I've missed."
Alaric walked over to Stefan who was standing in the park with his hands in his pockets waiting for him to arrive
"Thanks for meeting me. Something's come up." Alaric announced
"Jenna told you." Stefan stated
"yeah." He nodded
"So it's true. Your wife Isobel was Grace's and Elena's birthmother." Stefan nodded
"What does Grace and Elena know?" The teacher questioned
"About you wife?" The hazel eyed Vampire questioned
"About everything, about you, about your brother." Alaric looked at him for an answer
"They know what we are, they knows that you know about the Vampires." Stefan replied
"Do they know about Damon and Isobel?" Alaric asked the younger Salvatore brother
"No. I couldn't tell them, not until I was sure..." Stefan reasoned
"You said you'd help me." Alaric told him
"I asked Damon without saying too much. He doesn't remember." Stefan replied
"Ask him again." Alaric lowered his voice
"Damon is not stable right now." Stefan shook his head
"You know, he murdered my wife or at the very least made a meal out of her. When has he been stable?" Alaric growled
"I'm telling you not to push this." Stefan warned
"Give me a reason not to." Alaric glared
"Your survival." Stefan reasoned with the History teacher "How's that got a reason?" Alaric stayed silent "I'll handle it, but for now, I need you to let it go..."
"Is that what you'll tell Elena and Grace? Let it go?" Alaric hissed
"Leave them out of this." Stefan warned
"I need to know what happened. I think you would, too." Alaric told him
"I need something more than just your wife's name, a picture, something I could show Damon." Stefan pressed
As Alaric gave his picture of Isobel to Stefan he saw the kind smile planted on his wife's face, it through him into a flashback of when they were together, and he actually knew the whereabouts of his wife
"Iz." Alaric complained as he used his wife's nickname as he sat up in their marital bed
"Just a few more minutes." She replied her eyes fixed on her computer screen as her fingers bashed against the keys
"Can't you, uh – can't you finish this in the morning?" Alaric asked concerned for his wides health of staying up all night
"But I like working at night." She giggled
"Yeah. See, I like sleeping at night. With you. Ok, I'll bite. What is it, thesis stuff?" Alaric asked leaning his head back against the headboard, she didn't replied "Look, baby, I'm in a 3-way here with you and your computer, the least you can do is let me know what you're up to..." he argued
she got up and walked over to the bed sitting down with her husband "I was going research, and I dug up all this stuff about this small town in Virginia near where I grew up. It's isolated, out of the way, and every now and then, people die mysteriously, and they say that it's animal attacks... except these bodies are drained of blood..." She looked at him as he continued to listen "It's Vampires. It has to be."
"Ok. I'll get my garlic and holy water, and then maybe, just maybe we can get some sleep..." He joked as she hit him with her pillow, Alaric pulled his woman into his arms "Look, this is why I love you, because you believe in all of this stuff, so much so that you're making a degree out of it. You're like Mulder, except hotter and a girl." He joked
"This is not a joke, Ric." She stated "You think that this is cute, but I'm going to prove it." she kissed him passionately before climbing back out of bed over to her laptop "And Mulder was right in the end."
Trudie poured Grace a cup of tea sliding it over to her before doing the same for Elena and then herself. They were looking at the pictures in the year book, Grace was trying to pick out one of the truthful things flying through Trudie's mind
"Ah. They came to the games for us. The football team hadn't won in years. We were the stars. Well, Izzy was, but I was a damn good backup." Trudie giggled
"This is great, thank you." Elena spoke as Grace glared at her
"Is she ok?" Trudie asked
"She's fine." Elena nudged her "aren't you Grace?"
"Fine." Grace mumbled
"You haven't touch your tea." Trudie motioned to their cups
Grace brought her glass up to her mouth and sipped it, the Vervain hit the back of her throat hard, she wasn't a Vampire so it didn't hurt her, but it did surprise her that it was in there, she coughed on it
"Grace is sensitive to some plants." Elena covered as she drunk her tea patting her twins back "What is it?"
"Just some herbs." Trudie shrugged "Are you sure she's ok?"
"Fine." Grace growled "Is this Vervain?"
"Mmm." Trudie mused
"You know." Grace stated and Elena gasped at her sister
"Know what?" Trudie asked getting up
"You didn't invite us in and you were severing Vervain tea. You know." Grace accused standing up "Will you keep you thoughts still for once second!" Grace complained as she began to think of different things
"Grace." Elena jumped up
"Leave. Now." Trudie growled
Grace and Elena walked outside over to her car, they both see a man standing in the middle of the road watching them, they both quickly get in the car and Elena drives away as he starts to walk towards them
"Bourbon." Damon ordered the bartender as he took a seat next to Alaric "behold the teacher." he lowered his voice to a dramatic tone "Don't you have some papers to grade?"
"It's more fun with a buzz." Alaric told him finishing off his vodka
"Well, most things in life are. Sober's depressing." Damon shook his head
"You don't strike me as somebody who gets depressed..." Alaric noted
"You say that like you know me..." Damon glanced across at him
"Nope, just a hunch." he shrugged before they both looked at each other for a long time "You have a good afternoon..." He told him standing up
"Not likely." The raven haired Vampire called over his shoulder as Alaric left
"Daytime drinking, huh?" Liz Forbes asked Damon as she took a seat next to him
"It's all the rage." Damon smirked as he drank more
"Listen, I need a favour." Liz started
"You ever been in love?" Damon asked trying to have a heart-to-heart with the divorcee
"Excuse me?" Liz asked taken back
"Have you even been so bent on someone, then you just have your heart ripped out by them?" Damon asked
"You forget I was married." Liz scoffed
"Right." Damon nodded "Gay husband." he looked at the bartender "She'll have what I'm having."
"There's a fundraiser here tonight that the founder's council is throwing... The town's most eligible bachelors get raffled off for dates, and, well, we're short a bachelor." She admitted
"Is this what you do where there's not, uh... Vampires." He whispered "Organize bachelor auctions?"
"Oh, trust me, at this point, I miss the Vampires, Look, you're a hero to this town, Damon. I know most people don't know it, but you are, and you're single and a catch. Oh, come on. Help me out. Carol Lockwood won't let me live it down if I come up empty-handed..." she begged noticing that the bartender had poured her a bourbon which she refused to drink on the job
"You know, a room full of women clamouring to win a date with me sounds... tasty." He smirked
"Thank you." Liz praised
"One thing. Can you get information on someone for me? Alaric Saltzman, the History teacher. There's just something a little off about him, and I just – I want to make sure that the high school did their homework on this guy." Damon lied
"You got it." Liz nodded as she got up and left the bar
"May I help you?" Trudie asked as she opened the door to see an older man
"Thank you for the text." The man smiled thankfully at her
"You're welcome. I didn't tell her anything. I – I kept my promise." She reasoned
"Good." He nodded
"The girl, though, the smaller one She – she knew something. And if the small one knew something the other did, too" Trudie refereed to Grace as 'the smaller one' "The small one said she could hear things, Isobel was right about her..."
"That won't be a problem. She won't get any closer to the truth. Neither of them will." The mas assured Trudie
"Good. So I'm done?" She smiled happily
"Yes. You're done." The man growled as he tried to force his way into her house
"No! I won't invite you can't come in!" Trudie tried to use the Vampire trick on him, but it wouldn't work
"I'm not a vampire, so, yes, I can." he growled as he pushed into her house, making Trudie fall back onto the stairs
"I don't understand. I did what you told me. I did my part!" She screamed
"And now I have to do mine." The man replied
Trudie attempted to get out, she ran up the stairs, but the man followed her and grabbed her leg, she rolled down the stairs and hit he floor at the bottom. Dead.
Grace sat in the Salvatore Living room just after her and Elena had arrived back from visiting Trudie whilst Elena was upstairs talking to Stefan in his room.
The telepath stood up and walked over to look at a incredibly old small framed picture of Stefan, Damon and who she assumed was their father Giuseppe Salvatore.
"Mmm. Hello there, beautiful." Damon pressed himself against her back purring in her ear as he spoke
Damon held her tightly she could feel his muscles pressed firmly against her back, she began to squirm in his arms, he turned her quickly forcing her back against a wall, she stared up into his icy blue eyes, she could already smell the alcohol on his breath
"Damon." She whispered as he pinned her hands above her head
"Did you know I'm one of Mystic Falls most eligible bachelors." He smirked trailing the tip of his nose down her neck, her back arched in response "Mmm, lets see what I can make you do..." he smirked
"I'm not your puppet, Damon." She growled at him
"I'd beg to differ." He purred licking the soft skin of her slender neck, she let out a small breath as he suckled the sensitive skin of he sweet spot
"Damon." She moaned out accidentally
"That's all I need to get through tonight." He pulled back from her releasing her wrist but keeping his hands either side of her, trapping her from getting away from him, he looked down at his exposed toned stomach and chest muscles "button me..."
She stared at him intently as she smoothed out her clothes "You're an ass, you know that?" She hissed at him
"You love it." He nip her ear lobe with his blunt teeth "I'm far too smashed to even attempt to button up my shirt, so, if you want me to leave this house shirtless..."
She glared at him as she started to button up him black button down shirt, he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and she continued to focus on the job in hand
"So, where were you today?" Damon questioned
"Miss me?" She smirked
"Heh. I missed you so much, Grace Gilbert, I needed a day drinking friend and you were no where to be found." He laughed and pouted his bottom lip "Where were you?"
"I went to find out more about mine and Elena's birthmother." She told him with an excited smile
"Ugh, who cares?" He told her drunk off his ass "She left you. She sucks." He kissed her forehead catching the deathly look she'd thrown him
"Grace." Elena's voice came from behind them
Damon pulled back off a hurt Grace and sauntered from the room casually, Elena and Stefan stood there looking at her in shock
"he's drunk." Grace rolled her eyes
"he's Damon." Stefan argued
"You know, maybe this heartache will do him good." Elena shrugged "it'll remind him that he has one, even if it doesn't beat."
"With your sister here, I'm not sure there is so much heartache going on anymore..." Stefan looked at her, she was giving him a look and the phrase, if looks could kill, came to mind
"We went to see Trudie Peterson... I know, I'm sorry. We didn't plan it." Elena shrugged
"it's a good thing you didn't come." Grace told him playing with her hair "She had Vervain."
"She knows about Vampires, Stefan, it can't be a coincidence..." Elena shook her head
"It isn't. This is Alaric's wife." He handed the photo Alaric had given him to Elena and Grace trotted over to see
"You smell like Damon." Stefan muttered to her
"Thanks." She rolled her eyes
"This is her. This is Isobel. He gave this to you?" Elena questioned her boyfriend
"Everything he knows about Vampires, he learned from her. He believes that she was killed by one." Stefan informed the twins
"Oh my God." Elena whispered continuing to look at the beautiful woman in the picture smiling back at her "She has your eyes." Elena told Grace
"You have her nose." Grace commented
"Listen, there's a lot about Isobel that Alaric can tell you, but I need you to hold off a while before you talk to him." Stefan told them
"Why?" Grace asked
"I know that it's a lot to ask of you, but will you both do that for me?" Stefan looked at them both
"Tickets for the raffle are now on sale. All proceeds benefit the annual founders day celebration..." Carol Lockwood announced into a microphone
"That's a good look for you." Jenna walked over to Alaric who was once again up by the bar
"What? Embarrassing and uncomfortable?" He joked
"Yep. That's – that's the one." She played along
"Hey, look. I'm, uh, sorry about earlier. It was just kind of a – a shock." He nodded
"Well, I'm sorry for dropping it on you, but I felt like you should know." Jenna replied
"No, I get it." Alaric nodded understanding completely
"At some point, maybe you, Grace and Elena could talk. I'm sure they'd like to hear about Isobel, what she was like..." Jenna shrugged
"Yeah." Alaric nodded awkwardly
"Uh... or not. No pressure..." Jenna suddenly felt horrid
"I don't know if that's a – a great idea. At least not – not for a while." Alaric nodded
Stefan was waiting for Damon in the hall, Grace and Elena had already left to go to the fundraiser, he saw his older brother coming towards him
"Where'd my girlfriend go?" Damon looked around, Stefan gave him a look
"She's on her way to the Grill with Elena. I, uh, I wanted to talk to you." Stefan pulled the picture of Isobel to show him "This is the woman, Isobel, from North Carolina. Remember her now?" He questioned his older brother
"Who wants to know?" Damon cocked an eye brow
"I do." Stefan replied
"Who else wants to know?" Damon saw through the younger Vampire
"Did you kill her?" Stefan asked ignoring his last question
"Sorry. Don't know her." He lied drunkenly "Hey, are you coming? The real housewives of Mystic Falls await." he wiggled his eye brows before leaving
Grace, Elena, Caroline and Matt all sat in the crowded Mystic Grill await the fundraiser to begin, Caroline was also helping out taking the money in for the raffle tickets, somehow the conversation had turned to Damon again
"He's already been hit on, like, 35 times... He's total cougar bait." Caroline announced looking at Grace "You must be getting pretty pissed with it, right?"
"Why would I be pissed?" Grace asked
"C'mon, I saw you two at the party the other night, he was all over you, then you just magically disappear... I know what Damon's like... He's a freak... must have been so kinky for him.. you and him alone in that forest-"
"Caroline." Elena looked at her in disbelief
"We did not... no!" Grace shook her head "Ugh! God, Caroline! Why would you put that imagine in my head." She moaned
"Because she just loves to embarrass people." Matt smirked at his girl
They all sat there continuing to talk when Kelly Donovan stumbled her way over to the table, Elena glanced over at Grace who was trying not laugh at the drunk woman
"Hi, Mrs. Donovan." Caroline smiled politely
"Elena, honey!" Kelly ignored the blonde "Grace, still as polite as I remember."
"I'm sorry." Grace smirked "It's just... you're a funny drunk." Grace got up from the booth walking to the bar
"I'm not drunk." Kelly called over her shoulder
"Hi, Kelly." Elena greeted her awkwardly
"Long time, no see." She announced
"How are you doing?" The brunette girl questioned
"Oh, same old. Matty tells me you broke his heart." Matt's mother pouted
"Mom." Matt scolded
"Just kidding. Calm down. He found his rebound girl. Oh. Here you go, sweetheart. However many that'll buy." She gave Caroline some money "I just hope I don't get bachelor 3. I dated him in high school. Not impressive. In any way." She laughed cruelly as she took the raffle tickets "Very exciting." She walked away from them
"I've got the big date planned. It's a romantic dinner, secluded spot, somewhere woodsy." Damon smirked
"You making me think I should buy a ticket." Carol flirted
"Well, you are in charge. You could always rig it." He winked as he saw Grace talking to Jenna at the bar "Pardon me." He excused himself and sauntered over to the telepath who groaned when she saw him turning on her bar stool facing the bar itself
"Well, this is awkward. I'll leave you two to talk." Jenna announced going over to Elena
"You going to buy a ticket?" Damon questioned grabbing her drink taking a large gulp of the coke before making a face "Ugh. Where's the alcohol?"
"I can't get served." Grace replied rolling her eyes "And no, I haven't brought a ticket, if you must know... There's no one up there for me."
"Here, put some vodka in that." Damon passed it to the bartender "I'm up there."
"Mmm." Grace mused now ignoring him
"I could just eat you up." Damon's eyes flashed with hunger, yet the drunk haze was still there as he turned her to him slipping a piece of paper into her bra his other hand playing with the soft skin of her inner thigh
"You brought a raffle ticket... thinking of getting lucky, Damon?" She smirked as the bartender brought her drink back, she attempted to move his hand, but he responded by moving higher
"I knew you wouldn't, so I brought one for you." Damon leaned close "Can't wait for our date." he announced as he saw Liz, he moved his hand higher feeling the soft material of her panties
"Damon." Her voice jumped
"See ya soon." He smirked and left her sitting there taking in deep breaths
"Do I want to know?" Jenna walked back over
"No." Her voice squeaked as she chugged back her drink quickly "No, probably not."
"I ran the check on the history on the History teacher. You want this before or after you big debut?" Liz giggled
"How's it look?" Damon asked
"He checks out. Couple of speeding tickets. It's a rough story, though. Turns out his wife went missing a few years back in North Carolina..." She explained
"North Carolina?" Damon looked at the Sheriff "She have a name?"
"Yeah. Isobel." Liz replied
"Isobel." Damon whispered
It wasn't long until the show got on the road, Bachelor no. 3 was currently before questioned by Carol Lockwood, Alaric was Bachelor no. 4 and Damon was Bachelor no. 5
"And what do you do, bachelor number 3?" Carol asked
"I'm a plumber." he replied
"Well, is that wonderful? We could always use more plumbers. Moving on." she walked to Alaric and stood next to him "Number 4 'Alaric Saltzman' wow. That's a mouthful. What do you do, Alaric?" she questioned
"I'm a teacher at Mystic Falls High." Alaric replied
"Oh, beauty and brains, ladies. This ones a keeper. What do you teach?" Carol asked
"History." Alaric replied
"History. Oh, well, give us a fun fact about Mystic Falls, something crazy." Carol giggled
"Uh, well..." Alaric glanced across at Damon
"He's probably saving the best stories for his date." She turned to Damon "And last, but not least, Damon Salvatore... We don't have much on you." She flicked through the cards she had been holding
"Well, I'm tough to fit on a card." He explained with a smirk
"Do you have any hobbies? Like to travel?" Carol went with it
"Oh, yeah. L.A, New York. Couple of years ago I was in North Carolina, near the Duke campus, actually. I think – I think Alaric went to school there. Didn't you, Ric? Cause I – I know your wife did. I had drink with her once. She was – she was a great girl. I ever tell you that? Cause she was – she – delicious." Damon smiled evilly at Alaric
"Are you ok?" Jenna looked at Grace who had gone rigid beside her
"I just need some air." Grace mumbled ripping up her raffle ticket and stumbling across the room, Elena quickly grabbed her as they walked outside
"Elena. Grace." Stefan called
"He killed her? Damon was the Vampire that killed her!" Elena exclaimed and Grace just stared off blankly into a blank space, her eyes wide with shock, tears threatening to fall
"I don't know what happened. Alaric said that they never found the body." Stefan told them
"Oh my God. Stefan." Elena whispered
"I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you, but I just – I wanted to know more." Stefan explained
"I was feeling sorry for him." Grace finally spoke, her voice was a hiccup "Hoping that I was going to change him... I'm so stupid." She fell to her knees and sobbed
"No, no you're not, sweetie." Elena held Grace looking up at Stefan
"He doesn't know about the connection to you two. I thought about confronting him, but he's already so on edge..." Stefan argued
"Why are you protecting him?" Elena asked in disbelief
"Because Grace wasn't the only one hoping that she might be able to change him." Stefan replied
Elena suddenly saw a familiar face standing across the road daring to come near them, Grace saw him too
"That man. We saw that man outside of Trudie's." Elena whispered
"Get back inside. Come on." Stefan stirred them both in
"And bachelor number 3 goes to... 37458." Carol announced
"That's me." Kelly announced
"Ah. Kelly Donovan. Lovely. You and the plumber should have so much fun." Carol was mocking her with her eyes
Kelly walked over to where she accepts her price, which was right next to Caroline, she was going to try again and be nice to Matt's mom
"Congratulations, Mrs. Donovan." Caroline smiled sincerely
"Ok, just stop." Kelly spat "Stop trying so hard. This thing you're doing, this nice thing, it's face, like you, like you mom... And for some reason, Matt fell for it, but it doesn't mean that I will. I don't like you, ok? So tell plumber boy I'll be at the bar..." Kelly smiled before walking to the bar
"Ok." Caroline whispered
Grace walked in to go grab her bag from Jenna when she collided with a hard chest, he grinned down at her evilly
"Where's your ticket, my sexy little telepath." Damon bit his bottom lip
"I'm not your anything, you absolutely jerk!" She slapped him around the face
"Ok, I'm missing something here." he nodded rubbing his cheek gently, it didn't hurt, but he did it for effect
"Did you enjoy that? Rubbing it in to Alaric Saltzman?" Grace hissed
"What?" Damon was confused
"Just as I was starting to think that where was something redeemable about you... that you had a shred of decency... you go ahead and be a complete and utter dick!" She spat narrowing her eyes
"Language, Ms. Gilbert." Damon smirked at her and she slapped him again "What have I done, Grace."
"Did I forget to mention earlier, after you made me stupidly moan your name, when we were talking about mine and Elena's birthmother the one that gave us up? Her name was Isobel. Go ahead, Damon. Reminisce about how you killed her."
"Grace, I-" Damon grabbed her hand "Please, hear me out."
"No, I'm done." She grabbed her hand back "After not finding Fayth down there, I thought ok... maybe he's just a little upset, maybe I can help him... but, Damon, what you've done now... I just can't believe you." She whispered
"Please, don't say that." Damon took both of her hands "I'll do anything to taking it back, please believe me." he slurred
"Get off." She took her hands back "Want to do something for me, Damon? Drop dead." She hissed before leaving the bar
"You did good in there." Stefan told her sincerely "Really put him in his place... Certainly gave him something to think about."
"Why do I feel so cruel?" She sobbed into her hands
"Hey, hey." Stefan hugged her warmly, like a brother would hug his little sister "It's going to be ok, you're better than Damon, way better."
"You ready?" Elena came up to them
"I have a message for you." The man from earlier came up to the three
"Who are you?" Stefan demanded
"Stop looking." The man told them
"Stop looking for what?" Elena asked
"She doesn't want to know you. Either of you. She does want to talk to you." He stated
"Isobel?" Grace asked
"You need to stop looking. Do you understand."
"She's alive? Does that mean she's a –." Elena was cut off by her boyfriend
"Elena." Stefan shook his head
"He's under compulsion..." Grace read his mind "Look at his eyes." She noted the glassiness of them
"Do you understand?" The man asked
"Yes." Grace and Elena replied in unison
"Good. I'm done now." The man stepped backwards and a car slammed into him. Grace and Elena both screamed loudly
Everyone started to gather around the now dead man, Grace was stood in shock, this time wasn't as bad as the time Vicki was killed, this man was put out of his misery, he'd been compelled, he was confused and that was no life for him. Elena quickly grabbed the man's phone that was laying on the floor and Stefan steered them both away from the soon to be crime scene
"37649." Carol announced for Alaric's date
"That's me." Jenna jumped up happily
"And bachelor number 5, Damon Salvatore. 37553..." She called out, Caroline looked at Grace's ticket that was ripped in half, that was her number... "No? Alright then... 34556." She called again "Would you look at that? What are the chances? Me." She giggled "Where'd he go?" Carol glanced around the room
"I'll call you later." Alaric promised Jenna
He remembered back to when Isobel was still with him and the many arguments they had over her obsession with Vampires
"I think it's time to let this vampire crap go. I mean, the research, the trips, it's become an obsession." Alaric told his hysterical wife
"Well, this is important to me, Ric." Isobel replied
"Why? Why is it so important? Explain it to me. I mean, make me understand. I mean, what's the point of this? You don't want kids. You're barely ever home. I just want us to be normal people." He told his wife
"Maybe I don't want to. Maybe I want more." Isobel told him angrily
back in the precent Matt carried his drunk mother into their house, he lay her down on the couch carefully
"Here we go. Home, sweet home." He announced
"Wait. Why – why are we back here? I wasn't ready to leave." Kelly complained
"Yeah, you were, mom." He rolled bright blue eyes
"You're the best, Matty." She told him
"I know." Matt nodded
"I'm – I'm sorry... I was gone so long." She slurred at him
"Why are you really home, mom?" Matt asked wanting the truth, drunk people only speak the truth
"It's Pete. He's gone,And it's all my fault.I did it. I always do it." She was about to cry
"No, you didn't, mom. It's not your fault." He soothed her
"You're all I have left. Please don't leave me." She begged him
"I'm not going anywhere." Matt assured his mother
Damon walked into his home and quickly grabbed his bottle of aged bourbon and poured it down his throat to sooth the pain, he wanted to go see her, tell her he was wrong and that he was sorry, but she wouldn't listen, she could be as stubborn as he was... why was he feeling like this? Damon was confused and hurt... and just all over feeling sorry for himself
"Are you really this stupid?" Damon growled as Alaric tried to sneak up behind him, he suddenly launched the teacher across the room, Alaric stood back up quickly and righted himself placing himself in a fighting stance holding a stake as a weapon "Are you going to put the stake down?" The raven haired Vampire asked but Alaric didn't move "Wow. That's courage." Damon told him sarcastically
"Where's Isobel? What have you done with my wife?" Alaric asked as Damon walked towards him
"You want me to tell you I killed her? Would that make you happy? Because I think you know what happened..." Damon smirked
"I saw you feeding on her." Alaric remembered
"Yeah. I did, and I wasn't lying. She was delicious." He punched Alaric and he stumbles to the floor in agony "Oh, come on. What do you think happened? Not an inkling? Never considered the possibility? I turned her."
"Why?" Alaric rasped
"She came to me, all pathetic, looking for Vampires. There was something about her, something I liked. There was something special." Damon remembered her eyes and smirked, she had Grace's eyes
"You tuned her because you liked her?" Alaric asked
"No, I slept with her because I like her. I turned her because she begged me to. Yeah, but you knew that, too, didn't you? Hmm. I guess she wasn't happy at home, wasn't happy with life in general, wasn't happy with you." Damon punched Alaric again before grabbing the stake and shoving it into his chest with brute force
"Gah!" Alaric exclaimed in pain
"Ah, this is a shame. We're kindred spirits, abandoned by the women we love... except the second time I lose a woman, it's your fault." Damon stated "Grace hates me because of you, Alaric... So thanks for that... I have a lot of ground to cover with her now... She was putty in my hands, mine for the taking... now she hates me..." Damon shook his head "Sounds like I got a lung. Which means I get to sit here and watch you die." Damon nodded as he took his bourbon drinking it again
Stefan walked in the room looking at the History teacher laying dead on the floor, he looked at his brother casually watching
"What happened? What did you do?" Stefan demanded
"Dude, what? He attacked me." Damon shrugged
"Damon." Stefan's eyes were wide with shock
"All I did was tell him the truth. He wife didn't want him anymore. It's not my fault he couldn't handle it..." Damon shrugged
"Like you've been handling Fayth? Like how you're going to handle Grace?" Stefan asked
"I'm, handling Grace fine... Granted, I'm completely trashed at the moment, but who says I can't stay that way..." he smirked and saw the look Stefan was giving him "You know what? Isobel came to me... She found me and if she'd related to Grace that means she's related to Fayth. Maybe Fayth sent her to me?"
"Stop it. You don't have to keep look." Stefan told him
"Can't be a coincidence Isobel sought me out. Can't. I'm assuming you'll take care of this..." Damon referred to Alaric's body on the floor before he left the room
"What happened?" Alaric suddenly asked from where he was laying on the floor "What's going on?"
Stefan stared down at Alaric's newly reanimated body on the floor, his eyes were now even wider with shock as he watched Alaric pull the stack from his chest
"You were just... Did Damon turn you?" Stefan asked confused
"No. I went for him, and then he stabbed me..." Alaric shrugged
"no, no, no. You must have vampire blood in your system... somebody slipped it to you." Stefan tried to find reason behind this
"No." Alaric shook his head "It's something else." he twirled the black ring on his finger
"Then how?" Stefan asked
"Isobel." He replied
"Surprise gifts aren't fair. I always feel bad for not getting you something." Alaric complained in his flashback
"Just open." She giggled
"Oh,that's a giant piece of jewellery." Alaric noted looking at the black ring in the box
"I know. It's ridiculous. Just tell people it's a family heirloom. Nobody questions that." She shrugged knowingly
"Where'd you get this?" Alaric questioned
"If I told you, you'd laugh at me, but promise me that you'll always wear it. It'll protect you from all the things that go bump in the night." She joked, but at the same time was serious
"A ring to ward off the demons, eh?" Alaric chuckled
"Consider it a – a token of my love, my affection, and if nothing else, an apology for being so crazy." She smiled at him
"Well, you were definitely crazy." He joked with his wife
"I'm selfish, and I'm obsessed, and I'm a horrible wife, but you love me anyway." She giggled kissing him passionately
"Yes, I do." Alaric mumbled against her lips
Back to the present Stefan had listened to Alaric's entire story and unbelievable, for a Vampire, he didn't believe it
"This ring protect me." Alaric told the younger Vampire
"That's impossible." Stefan told him
"I know." Alaric murmured
Elena had dropped of Grace at her house, when she arrived back at her house she ran straight up to her room and shut the door pulling out that mans phone and a picture of Isobel, she went through the last called and saw a number, she quickly hit dial
"Was there a problem?" Isobel asked "Did you find her? What's going on?" She asked impatiently
"Isobel?" Elena asked her voice thick with husky
Harper walked up to a house knowing it was the right one, he carefully knocked the door and waited for it to open, a half cast woman did, she had a smile on her face
"Pearl, it's Harper." She called to her before walking away
"I'm glad you found us." Pearl smiled as she approached the door with Anna "Ms. Gibbons, this gentleman is a friend of mine. May he come in?" she asked the heavily compelled woman
"Any friend of Pearl's is a friend of mine." Ms. Gibbons smiled "Please do. Come in." She smiled before walking the same was as the half cast woman had gone
"Annabelle, close the door, please." Pearl told Anna as she walked through the house with Harper in tow
A/N
I hope you like it :) please review :) should be another chapter up soon, so please tell me what you think, fav and alert. Thanks.
Graciiee xx