[1x15; A Few Good Men]

Lucy looked down at the driver's manual on the table, reading each line carefully. The more she studied the booklet, the better she'd scored on her test. The written part of her driver's exam was coming up and she wanted to make sure she'd ace it. It could be because she was a perfectionist sometimes but deep down, she knew it was because she was afraid she'd screw up and get into another accident. Lucy did not want to go through that again.

Most of all, though, she wanted a distraction.

It had been a month since they opened the tomb and Katherine wasn't even inside. Grams died for nothing.

It was hard knowing that Grams died, but Lucy was devastated for Bonnie. Grams raised her since her mom left Mystic Falls and the two were so close that Bonnie was a mess without her. She was staying at an aunt's house for now and Lucy had taken to messaging her every day to see if she was okay.

Lucy had only gotten a couple of messages back from Bonnie so far, but she kept quiet about them. Bonnie hadn't contacted Elena at all for some reason and her sister was having a hard time without her best friend. Bonnie explained in an email that she was avoiding Elena because she didn't want her to have to choose between Bonnie and Stefan.

Lucy understood where Bonnie's newfound hatred of vampires was coming from. Essentially, because of vampires, Grams was dead. She didn't blame Bonnie but she also felt bad that Elena would eventually have to make that choice.

Christmas break started the same day as Lucy's sixteenth birthday. Lucy's birthday was a bittersweet day without her parents and Bonnie, but her family, Caroline, and Stefan helped her through it. Liz made her a homemade coconut cake and Stefan surprisingly stepped up and made the lasagna, explaining that he was a master at cooking Italian food.

As far as presents went, she loved all of the ones she received. Joel and Jenna teamed up together—with the help of the funds leftover from their parents—and bought Lucy a car. Her black Ford Escape sat in the driveway waiting for driver's test. Elena and Jeremy also teamed up and got her an easel and some new paintbrushes, presenting them to her with encouraging smiles; that night, Lucy painted a portrait of Grams, intending to give it to Bonnie for her seventeenth birthday.

Stefan gifted her with a novelty sweatshirt from 'The Office' and, to her surprise, two tickets to see Bon Jovi in Charlottesville—she promptly freaked out and wrapped Stefan in a tight hug, laughing at the groans of annoyance from everyone that Stefan outshined them all. However, it was the present that Liz and Caroline gave her that she was most fond of; a homemade quilt made of t-shirts of important events of her childhood. There were shirts from each school she'd been to, art museums she went to with her parents and Jeremy, a shirt from Whitmore College, one from her dad's practice, one from the dance committee, one from the dance class she took until she was nine…there was even one from the town planning committee she took part in. The quilt made her feel so nostalgic that tears fell from her eyes and she hugged the two Forbes women tightly, thanking them sincerely. There were so many great memories just in that one blanket; it was amazing.

Christmas passed and for the first time in years, the Gilbert family didn't head to their cabin. Usually they'd head up on Christmas Eve and spend the next two days there but it didn't feel right going without their parents. Instead, they stayed home, exchanging gifts, making cookies, and watching cheesy Hallmark movies that made Joel cry—much to the amusement of his younger siblings.

It was melancholy without their parents but for the first time in a long while, Lucy felt like they were okay. They were moving on in a healthy way, not forgetting their parents but successfully living without them.

Lucy's phone beeped with a text message, making her sigh and pick it up. It was Mrs. Lockwood, reminding her that the charity auction was tonight—as if she'd forget—and that she and Caroline had to be at the Grill early to set up the register. She sent back a polite confirmation and went back to her reading.

Only to be interrupted when Jenna and Elena walked into the room.

"Hey, you," Jenna greeted Lucy, nose still pink from the chilly air outside. "I was going to show Elena what I found about her birth mother. I found stuff for you, too. Want to see?"

Lucy laughed. "Is that even a question?"

Jenna chuckled and sat down where her laptop was set up at the end of the table. Elena greeted Lucy and sat in the chair between, ready to find out more information about her birth mother.

"Your dad kept everything from his medical practice—records, logs, old appointment books," Jenna grabbed an appointment book that was sitting next to her laptop and opened it up. "I found an entry from the night you—" she looked at Lucy. "—were brought here. It was just a name—Rich Flemming."

"The man who gave me to Mom and Dad?" Lucy asked, her stomach flipping.

Intrigued, Lucy left her spot and walked to Jenna's other side so she could see the appointment book herself. Her father's slanted handwriting confirmed the information Jenna just gave them.

"Did you find anything on him?" she asked Jenna eagerly.

"No," Jenna shook her head. "But remember when I said that he said Isobel sent him?"

Lucy nodded.

"I did some more digging," Jenna looked at Elena now. "I looked up the records on the day you were born. There was an entry—patient and a birthdate. Isobel Peterson."

"Do you think that's her real name?" Elena asked hopefully.

Jenna sighed. "Pregnant teenage runaway?" she asked rhetorically. "Probably not. First name, maybe. But where'd she get 'Peterson'? Classmate? Best friend?"

"So," Jenna continued, pulling up a search engine on her computer and typing in information. "I Googled it. I searched for all the Petersons in this area born the same year as Isobel. I found three—two men and a woman, Trudie. She lived in Grove Hill, Virginia."

"That's not far from here," Elena stated.

"Well, watch this," Jenna typed Trudie's name and town into the search bar.

Results popped up and Jenna clicked on the first link. An old yearbook page loaded; on the page was a picture of two cheerleaders hugging with the caption, 'Trudie Peterson and Isobel Flemming'.

Lucy looked at the picture, assuming the brunette cheerleader was Elena's birth mother.

"She was a cheerleader," Elena smiled happily.

Jenna smiled and bit her lip. "Trudie still lives there," she quickly wrote Trudie's address on a post-it note, handing it to Elena. "This is her address."

"What about Isobel?" Elena wondered.

"I couldn't find anything about her," Jenna sighed. "Listen. There's something else…Mr. Saltzman, Ric…His wife was from around here and her name was Isobel."

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows thoughtfully.

"Isobel's last name was Flemming, right?" she spoke up, causing Jenna and Elena to look at her. "As in 'Rich Flemming', the guy who brought me to Mom and Dad."

Jenna nodded. "Yeah."

"I don't know if I'm assuming, but…" Lucy bit her lip nervously. "…doesn't 'Rich' sound like 'Ric' to you? And if he knew Isobel—"

"Are you saying we might actually be half-sisters?" Elena cut her off. "And that Mr. Saltzman might be your biological father?"

Lucy shrugged. "Maybe. It's a possibility. Jenna?"

Jenna looked at her nieces, both of them turning to look at her for her opinion. "It's a possibility," she confirmed. "I can talk to Ric, I'm meeting up with him later."

Lucy nodded; she wanted to get to the bottom of this.

"Wait, wait," Elena interrupted, shaking her head. "I don't want us to get our hopes up," she gave Lucy a pointed look before turning to Jenna. "And what did you mean that Mr. Saltzman's wife was named Isobel?"

Jenna sighed sadly; the new turn of events that Lucy might be Ric's daughter made the news worse. "She died."

Lucy frowned; she was sad that her potential biological mother was dead but it wasn't heartbreaking. It was disappointing that she might never get to meet her, but she didn't know what she was missing.

"Alaric's wife might have been your mother?" Stefan asked Elena, bewildered.

Elena sighed from where she was rummaging around in her dresser. "That's not even the craziest part," she turned to face him. "Alaric might be Lucy's father."

"What?" Stefan exclaimed. He thought about the reason Alaric gave him for being in Mystic Falls, other than to kill Damon. He wanted to find his daughter. "Oh, my God."

"Yeah," Elena nodded. "It can't be true, right? I mean, the coincidence along is just crazy," she grabbed the post-it with Trudie's address and showed it to Stefan. "I have the address for Isobel's friend, Trudie."

"You and Lucy want to talk to her?"

"I don't know," Elena shook her head. "I-I don't know. If it's true and they are the same person, that means that my birth mother is dead and I don't know if I could handle that. I don't know if Lucy could handle that."

Stefan looked at the floor, feeling guilty. If Alaric's wife was Elena and Lucy's mother, that meant that Damon killed her. Elena and Damon were just starting to get along, he didn't want to screw anything up until he found out the truth.

"Elena did Jenna tell you anything about Alaric's wife?" he asked. "How she died?"

"Just that she was killed and the case was never solved," Elena saw Stefan nod knowingly. "You knew that already?"

"The night at school when he attacked me, he told me some things about her death," Stefan admitted.

"Well—"

"No, no, no," Stefan cut her off, grabbing her hands and intertwining their fingers. "It's not possible. The coincidence is—it's too much."

"I don't think it is," Elena shook her head. "If Mr. Saltzman is Lucy's biological father, that means that his wife is probably our mother."

"I'll look into it," Stefan promised her. "And, listen, if you and Lucy decide to go talk to Isobel's friend, I'll go with you, okay?"

"I don't know what we're gonna do yet."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Elena asked Lucy for the third time as she turned onto Boulder Avenue in Grove Hill.

Lucy sighed, becoming annoyed. "Elena, you were the one that's hesitating," she pointed out, looking at the GPS on her phone. "We could have stayed in Mystic Falls, remember? The house is right there," she pointed white house labeled '312'.

"I know, I know," Elena pulled up to the curb of Trudie Peterson's house. "I'm just nervous, all right?"

"It's okay to be nervous. I'm nervous," Lucy smiled, laying a comforting hand on Elena's arm. "But I'm here with you, okay? You're not alone, we have each other."

Elena smiled, grateful for Lucy's presence. By some miracle, Lucy might be her half-sister, and it was nice to know she wasn't alone in this journal to seek Isobel. Lucy felt the same way; she felt safe with her older sister's presence.

"Thanks, Lucy-Goosey," Elena turned off the car and got out of her seat, purposely ignoring Lucy's groans about her nickname.

The sisters slowly walked up the sidewalk to the house, climbing the brick steps. Elena knocked on the blue door and glanced nervously at Lucy as they waited for Trudie to answer.

The door opened, revealing a woman around thirty years of age with blonde hair and a kind smile.

"Trudie?" Elena asked politely. "Trudie Peterson?"

"Yes," Trudie confirmed with a confused smile.

"Uh, my name is Elena Gilbert and this is my sister, Lucy," she gestured to Lucy, who waved nervously. "We wanted to talk to you about Isobel Flemming."

"Well, I haven't heard that name in years," Trudie stated. "How do you know her?"

"We think, um," Lucy stammered anxiously. "Do you know if she had babies she gave up for adoption?"

Trudie's polite smile slowly fell as she stared at Lucy and Elena in realization. "My God. You're her daughters."

Lucy and Elena looked at each other; now they knew for sure that they were biological sisters. It filled Lucy with relief and she saw the hint of a smile on Elena's face, too.

"I was just gonna make some tea," Trudie offered. "Would you like some?"

Elena nodded, smiling. "Sure."

"Uh, the kitchen's this way," Trudie pointed behind her, into the house. She stepped out of the way and allowed Lucy and Elena to walk through the threshold.

"You have a lovely house," Lucy told Trudie, looking at the foyer in admiration. The house had a nice, homely feel; she could tell it was well loved and appreciated.

"Thank you," Trudie shut the door behind them and led them into the kitchen where a small table was off to the side. "Y'all can sit there. The water should be ready."

"We weren't going to come," Elena explained as she and Lucy shed their jackets and scarves. "But I was driving and I hit this stoplight and it made me think about when I was learning how to drive and then my mom would always warn me about this blind turn on the left-hand side and then I was thinking about my mom and—" she realized she was rambling and took a deep breath. "We had your address."

"Sorry for barging in," Lucy added, secretly amused by Elena's ramble. Usually it was her doing the awkward talking while others watched.

"It's no problem," Trudie assured the girls. "Just a surprise, though. I haven't thought about Isobel in years."

"When was the last time you saw her?" Elena asked as they all sat down around the table.

"About sixteen years ago," Trudie said thoughtfully. "It was winter break of our freshman year of college. She had just given birth," she gave Lucy a knowing look. "We kept in touch for a while but, well, you know, people drift apart."

"Where did she go to college?"

"She got into Duke on a scholarship after she gave birth to you," Trudie stated, looking at Elena. "Smart girl, smart school."

Elena leaned forward at the mention of her birth. "Do you know who my father was?"

Trudie shook her head. "I could never get her to fess up," the water kettle whistled across the room. "Let me just grab that."

After Trudie handed Lucy and Elena their tea, she pulled an old yearbook out. She opened it up and turned to the page that Lucy and Elena saw on Google that morning.

"They came to the games for us," Trudie told them with a fond smile. "The football team hadn't won in years. We were the stars…well, Izzie was, but I was a dam good backup."

Lucy smiled; her biological mother was a cheerleader just like she was. It was kind of cool to have that connection with her.

Elena giggled. "This is great. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Trudie said graciously. "You haven't touched your tea."

"Oh," Lucy mumbled. She grabbed the lukewarm mug and took a sip at the same time as Elena. The sweet tea tasted off but not unpleasant.

"What is this?" Elena asked, noticing the same thing as Lucy. The scent was familiar, like her vervain necklace…

"Oh, it's just some herbal mixture," Trudie said nonchalantly.

"Vervain?"

Lucy stiffened at Elena's claim and looked over at Trudie, curious. How did Trudie know about vampires? People don't just consume vervain for the fun of it.

"You know?" she asked.

"Know what?" Trudie said nervously.

"You didn't invite us in," Elena pointed out. "And you're serving vervain tea. You know."

Trudie swallowed harshly, standing up. "I think you should probably leave."

"Wait," Elena objected. "What are you not telling us?"

"Please leave," Trudie insisted. "Now!"

Lucy stood up and grabbed her jacket, hurriedly putting it on. She quickly walked out of the house, Elena following her, and Trudie slammed the door shut after them.

"What the hell was that?" she asked her sister as they stomped to their car. Her eyes caught something and when she looked, she saw a man standing in the middle of the street. "Who the hell is that?"

Elena looked back, seeing the man for herself. "I don't know. Just get in the car."

"Gladly."

Stefan walked through the town square, spotting Alaric exactly where the man said to meet him. He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and approached him, ready to find out if Alaric was Lucy's biological father and if his wife was her and Elena's biological mother.

"Thanks for meeting me," Alaric greeted him. "Something's come up."

"Jenna told you about Elena," Stefan assumed.

"Yeah."

"So, it's true," Stefan stated. "Your wife, Isobel, was her birth mother. And you're Lucy's birth father."

Alaric sighed, nodding. Ever since he had left Lucy with the Gilberts as a newborn baby, he'd been waiting to be able to meet her. It had to be the biggest coincidence in the world that Damon Salvatore showed up in Mystic Falls where he left Lucy, but he wasn't going to let an opportunity like this go.

That day he officially met Lucy in the Mystic Grill was the happiest moment he had since Isobel went missing. The daughter he let go for her own good almost sixteen years ago, she was right in front of him.

Lucy had grown up into a bright, beautiful young woman and he couldn't have thanked Grayson and Miranda Gilbert more. She was smart—she skipped a grade, for crying out loud—and looked taken care of. And she had his eyes…and cheekbones.

"Yeah, Lucy's my daughter," Alaric confirmed. "What does she know?"

"About you and your wife?" Stefan asked, confused.

"About everything?" Alaric said. "About you, your brother…"

"She knows what I am," Stefan told Alaric, crossing his arms over his chest. "And she knows that you know about the vampires."

"Does she know about Damon and Isobel? Does Elena?"

"No, and I couldn't tell them," Stefan said firmly. "Not until I was sure."

Alaric sighed. "You said you'd help me."

"I asked Damon without saying too much," Stefan informed him. "He doesn't remember."

"Ask him again," Alaric insisted.

Stefan felt himself growing annoyed; his brother was only hanging on by a thread right now. If Stefan annoyed him too much, who knows what he would do.

"Damon is not stable right now."

"You know, he murdered my wife or at the very least made a meal out of her," Alaric reminded Stefan. "When has he been stable?"

"I'm telling you not to push this."

"Give me a reason not to."

"Your survival. How's that for a reason?" Stefan didn't want this to get screwed up. If Alaric got too agitated and confronted Damon, he would die. And he didn't want that for Lucy—she just found out about him, after all. "I'll handle it but for now, I need you to let it go."

"Is that what you tell Elena and Lucy?" Alaric asked, irritated. "Let it go?"

Stefan clenched his jaw and stepped closer to Alaric. "Leave Elena out of this," he warned the man. "And as for Lucy, I suggest waiting for her to approach you."

Alaric sighed and gave Stefan an apologetic look; he knew he took it too far with his last comment. "I'll wait for her to come to me," he agreed. "But I need to know what happened with Isobel. I think you would, too."

Stefan exhaled deeply; Alaric was right. And it was best to find out what Damon did to Isobel, not for Alaric's sake, but for Elena and Lucy's. "I need something more than just your wife's name," he told him. "A picture. Something I could show to Damon."

Alaric nodded and pulled out his wallet, slipping a folded picture of Isobel out of the bill section. He handed it to Stefan, who looked at it and nodded at him before walking away.

Alaric watched him leave, knowing that he was one step closer to meeting his daughter and learning what happened to his wife.

"What?" Caroline exclaimed loudly, causing the rest of the planning committee to look over at them where they were sitting behind the ticket booth. She grimaced and lowered her voice, looking at Lucy with wide eyes. "You're telling me that Mr. Saltzman, our history teacher, might be your biological father?"

Lucy nodded.

"Oh, my God, are you okay?" Caroline asked, concerned. "Have you talked to him about it?"

"I'm fine," Lucy assured her. "And I haven't talked to him about it. I don't know what to say. Hey, you're my biological father and I want to know why you gave me up to my Mom and Dad?"

Caroline shrugged. "That might be a good start."

Lucy snickered and shook her head; leave it to Caroline to cheer her up about the situation she was in. "I think I just need some time."

"Well, you can take all the time in the world," Caroline told her, wrapping an arm around Lucy's shoulders. "So, change in subject…Matt's mom is back."

"Ugh," Lucy groaned. "Kelly Donovan?"

"Yep and she walked in on me and Matt making out!"

"Oh, Carebear, no!" Lucy moaned, feeling bad for her best friend.

"Yeah, I know!"

Eventually, the fundraiser started, making Lucy and Caroline super busy. Single—and even taken—women from around town swarmed them, buying tickets for the five eligible bachelors up for raffle, two of which included Lucy's biological father and a crazy, serial killer vampire.

They were making a lot of money for the Founder's Day celebration, though, so it was okay…so far.

When the rush was over and everyone was taking their seats to eat and talk about which bachelor they wanted, Elena and Matt showed up at the booth.

"He's already been hit on, like, thirty-five times," Caroline bragged about Matt, sending him a sweet smile. "He's total cougar bait."

"Impressive," Elena commented, eyebrows raised in amusement.

"More like embarrassing," Matt said, making Lucy laugh.

It was then that Matt's mother, Kelly Donovan, walked up to the booth, dressed up for the night. Caroline perked up, ready to impress her boyfriend's mom.

"Hi, Mrs. Donovan!" she greeted her perkily.

Kelly gave Caroline an unimpressed look that made Caroline frown and Lucy's blood boil and then turned to Elena with a big smile. "Elena, honey!"

"Hi, Kelly!" Elena laughed, allowing herself to be pulled into Kelly's hug.

"Long time, no see."

"How are you doing?" Elena asked her.

What a suck-up—it made Lucy rolls her eyes. Same old Elena.

"Oh, same old," Kelly laughed before pouting. "Oh, Matty tells me you broke his heart."

"Mom!" Matt was clearly embarrassed.

Lucy grimaced and looked at Caroline, noticing her best friend's crestfallen face. She grabbed her hand under the table and squeezed it tightly, showing her support.

"I'm just kidding, calm down," Kelly soothed her son. She turned to Elena. "He found his rebound girl."

"Excuse me?" Lucy asked, pissed; she couldn't believe that Kelly just said that and Elena nor Matt said anything in Caroline's defense.

"Oh," Kelly misread the situation, thinking that Lucy was asking for money to buy raffle tickets. "Here you go, sweetheart," she handed Lucy a twenty-dollar bill. "However many that'll buy. I just hope I don't get Bachelor #3. I dated him in high school…not impressive in any way."

Lucy glared at the woman and ripped the money out of her hands, setting it down in the money box. Caroline ripped four tickets off the roll and handed them to Kelly.

"Very exciting!" Kelly cheered before making her way straight to the bar.

"Matty, I love you, but your mom is a bitch," Lucy declared, glaring at Kelly's figure walking away from them.

"I know," Matt sighed, looking at Caroline. "Care, I'm so sorry."

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," Caroline excused herself, looking at Lucy. "Can you…?"

"Of course," Lucy knew that Caroline wanted to collect herself. "Text me if you need me."

Caroline nodded and walked away, ignoring Matt's calls as he followed her. Elena left soon after, telling Lucy they'd meet up when the auction began. Lucy waved her off and promised to find her and Jenna when it came the time.

Lucy found herself looking around the restaurant, watching people interact with each other. She always enjoyed town events, even if some of them were questionable in nature.

"Twitch, I haven't seen you in forever!"

Lucy's attention went to Damon; he stood in front of the booth, a sloppy grin on his face and a drink in his hand. To her chagrin, she actually felt bad for him. He waited one hundred and forty-five years for Katherine, only to find out that she didn't want him. It had to be tough.

"Hi, Damon."

"Did ya get my gift?" he asked. "I sent it with Stefan."

"I did," she remembered the nice dress and designer heels Stefan delivered to her with a short note from Damon—it said nothing but his name. Nevertheless, she loved the outfit. "I really loved it. I'm sorry I haven't had the chance to thank you."

"No problem," Damon waved her off. "I've been busy."

Lucy raised her eyebrows. "How are you? I'm sorry about—"

"Uh, uh, uh," Damon shushed her. "I'm fine. I'm lovely. I'm great. I spent more than a century of my life on someone who didn't care. Why wouldn't I be fantastic?"

"Okay then," If Damon didn't want to talk about Katherine, he didn't have to. "Well, I hope you have a good time tonight."

"Oh, I plan on it, Lucy," Damon downed the rest of his drink and waved at her as he walked away. "See ya!"

"Geeze," she sighed, shaking her head. Poor Damon…she never thought she would ever say that in her life.

"Are you talking about all the older women throwing themselves at the wait staff or the fact that my brother is out-of-his-mind drunk?" Stefan asked, walking up to her.

"Broody, you're here!" Lucy said enthusiastically. She hadn't seen him in a while. She missed him and she wanted to tell him about Alaric and Isobel. "I haven't seen you in forever."

Stefan grinned at her. "I'm sorry you can't live without me, Goofy," he joked. "Let me guess, tickets are selling like hot cakes."

"Yep," Lucy nodded and rolled her eyes. "Mrs. Lockwood was practically drooling over Damon earlier. I'm thinking she's going to rig the raffle."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Stefan conceded. "Uh, Elena told me that you guys went to see Trudie Peterson. How was it?"

Lucy raised her eyebrows. "You didn't get the rundown from Elena?"

"I did but I wanted to hear it from you, too."

Lucy smiled slightly. "Obviously you know she knows about vampires, but other than that, it was okay," she shrugged, thinking about the day's events. "Elena and I are actually half-sisters, which is great to know…did Elena tell you about Mr. Saltzman?"

Stefan nodded and gave her a concerned look. "Are you okay, Luce? I know it's tough to learn something like that."

"I haven't really thought about it much," Lucy admitted truthfully, picking nervously at one of the sticker nametags in front of her. "I mean, he must have come here to meet me, right? How am I supposed to deal with meeting my biological father when I'm still mourning my Dad?"

"Hey," Stefan reached forward, grabbing her fidgeting hands. Lucy looked up, biting her lip. "You take it one step at a time, okay? There's no rush, take all the time you want. I can guarantee Alaric doesn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

"Have you talked to him?" Lucy asked quietly.

"Yeah," Stefan confirmed, smiling gently at her. "And he's gonna be patient, so don't worry."

"Okay," Lucy smiled, feeling better. If she didn't rush herself and she wasn't going to disappoint Alaric, she could do this. If she had her family and friends by her side, meeting her biological father was going to be a piece of cake. "This is why you're my best pal."

Stefan groaned. "Oh, this best pal shit again."

Lucy gasped, faking shock. "Stefan! I'm a lady, you can swear around me!"

"You're full of shit," Stefan smirked at her. "The other day I heard you when you stubbed your toe and Jenna got onto you."

Lucy laughed loudly. "You're fucking insane!"

"Uh-uh!" Stefan scolded her playfully. "Watch your language, young lady."

Tapping on the microphone interrupted what was sure to be a sass-off between Lucy and Stefan. Lucy gave Stefan a bright smile before excusing herself to find her aunt and sister. She found them at a booth in the middle of the restaurant.

"There you are!" Jenna exclaimed. "How many tickets did you sell?"

Lucy scoffed. "Too many to count!"

Thirty minutes of the auction passed by quickly and now Mrs. Lockwood was almost done introducing Bachelor #3, the man Kelly Donovan said she dated in high school.

"And what do you do, Bachelor #3?" Mrs. Lockwood asked for the crowd.

"Yeah, I'm a plumber," the man stated into the microphone, winking at the ladies in the crowd.

Lucy, Elena, and Jenna laughed with each other as several of the women cheered.

"Well, isn't that wonderful?" Mrs. Lockwood said politely. "We could always use more plumbers…Moving onto Bachelor #4," she walked around the plumber to stand next to Alaric. "Alaric Saltzman. Wow, that's quite the mouthful. What do you do, Alaric?"

Lucy looked up at the stage, quietly observing the man who was her biological father. He looked upset as he stood next to a smirking Damon and Lucy was sure he wanted to be anywhere but at the Grill being auctioned off for a date.

"I'm a teacher at Mystic Falls High," Alaric answered reluctantly.

"Oh, beauty and brains, ladies," Mrs. Lockwood quipped to the audience. "This one's a keeper," she turned back to Alaric. "What do you teach?"

"History."

"History. Oh, well, give us a fun fact about Mystic Falls," Mrs. Lockwood suggested. "Something crazy."

"Uh, well…"

Lucy could help but smirk; Alaric really didn't want to be up there.

Mrs. Lockwood laughed to save face for Alaric's awkwardness as she turned to the crowd. "He's probably saving the best stories for his date. And last, but not least…" she moved onto Damon. "Damon Salvatore. We don't have much on you."

"Well, I'm tough to fit on a card."

"Do you have any hobbies, like to travel?" Mrs. Lockwood prompted.

"Oh, yeah," Damon nodded. "L.A., New York…A couple of years ago, I was in North Caroline, near the Duke campus, actually," Damon smirked at Alaric. "I think—I think Alaric went to school there, didn't you, Ric?"

Lucy and Elena exchanged confused looks, both wondering what Damon was doing.

"Yeah, 'cause, I-I know your wife did," Damon continued, enjoying Alaric's growing anger. Lucy sat up at the mention of Isobel, listening carefully. "I had a drink with her once. She was—she was a great girl. I ever tell you that? She was—she was delicious."

As Damon winked at Alaric, Lucy gasped in realization. "Oh, my God."

Damon killed Isobel. He had to have, why else was he making such a show about her?

Lucy stood up and shoved her way through the crowd, wiping her face when she felt tears drip from her eyes. It was one thing to learn that Isobel was dead but it was another to learn that a vampire killed her. That Damon killed her.

"Lucy!" she heard Elena call her name when she burst outside. "Lucy, wait!"

Lucy whipped around to face her sister, not surprised to see Stefan behind her. "Did you know that Isobel was killed by a vampire? That Damon killed her?"

"I-I knew that she was killed by a vampire but I didn't know about Damon," Elena confessed, eyes watery. She turned to Stefan, face accusing. "Did you know?"

"I don't know what happened," Stefan explained. "Alaric said that they never found the body."

"Oh, my God!" Elena gasped. "Stefan."

"I know, I'm sorry," Stefan apologized, looking between the sisters. "I wanted to tell you guys, but I just—I wanted to know more."

"I was feeling sorry for him—" Elena started.

"Same," Lucy mumbled angrily.

"—Hoping that this whole Katherine thing would change him," Elena continued, not hearing Lucy's agreement. "I'm so stupid."

"He doesn't know about the connection to you two," Stefan said, defending his brother. "I thought about confronting him but he's already so on edge."

"Why are you defending him?" Lucy spoke up.

Time and time again she was warming up to Damon but each time he let her down. Maybe she couldn't see what Elena and Stefan saw in him, maybe she hadn't had the chance, but she was tired of Damon not taking responsibility for his actions.

"Because Elena's not the only one hoping that he might actually change," Stefan confessed.

Lucy shook her head and wiped her leftover tears; she knew how much Damon had made Stefan suffer for more than a century. At one hand, she hated that he had so much hope with Damon, but on the other, she knew where he was coming from. She could never quit on Elena, Joel, or Jeremy. They were her siblings, her family…Just like Damon was to Stefan.

"Stefan," Elena spoke up, eyes locked on someone behind Stefan. Lucy looked; it was the man they saw standing in the road at Trudie's house. "That man. We saw that man outside of Trudie's."

Stefan observed the man for a couple of seconds before placing his hands on Elena and Lucy's backs, ushering them to the doors of the Grill. "Get back inside," he urged them. "Come on."

As they walked inside, Lucy could hear Mrs. Lockwood announcing the winners of each bachelor but she ignored it. She wanted this night to be over and she wanted to avoid Damon for as long as she could.

Unfortunately, Lucy hardly gets what she wants.

Lucy ran smack dab into Damon's chest, making her flinch away from him.

"Whoa!" Damon laughed. "Easy there. Buy a ticket like everyone else."

Elena saw that Lucy was about to lose her temper, so she grabbed her arm, pushing her back into Stefan. However, looking at Damon, she lost her own.

"Did you enjoy that?" she asked him spitefully. "Rubbing it in to Alaric Saltzman?"

Damon was confused. "What?"

"Just as I was starting to think that there was something redeemable about you—"

"Elena," Stefan warned, holding onto Lucy, who glowered at his brother.

"Am I missing something here?" Damon asked, feeling out of the loop.

"Did I forget to mention earlier when we were talking about mine and Lucy's birth mother?" Elena said, voice hard. "The one that gave us up? Her name was Isobel."

Damon's smile dropped.

"Go ahead," Lucy sneered, ripping her arm out of Stefan's gentle grasp. "Reminisce about how you killed her."

Lucy stomped away, wanting to go outside again. She just felt so angry, she couldn't explain it. Why did she care so much about this? She didn't even know Isobel!

"Come on," Lucy heard Stefan say behind her. "Let's get you guys home."

Lucy turned around, noticing that Elena had followed her out again. "I can't go home!" she raised her voice at Stefan. "I have to stay, which means I have to be in the same room as him!"

"Lucy," Elena said soothingly, grabbing Lucy's hands. "Hey, calm down."

"It's too much," Lucy sighed; so much had happened in one day. She found out about her biological parents and that Damon killed one of them. It was overwhelming. "It's just—"

Lucy cut herself off as she made eye contact with the man her and Elena saw earlier. Stefan saw who she was looking at and grabbed the girls, pushing them behind him.

"I have a message for you," the man said, keeping eye contact with Lucy and Elena.

"What?"

"Who are you?" Stefan demanded over Elena's question.

"Stop looking," the man ignored Stefan, talking directly to Elena and Lucy.

"Stop looking for what?" Elena asked.

Lucy was speechless—who was this man talking about? What were they even looking for?

"She doesn't want to know you," the man said robotically. "She doesn't want to talk to either of you."

Elena gasped. "Isobel?"

"You need to stop looking," the man repeated himself. "Do you understand?"

"She's alive?" Lucy asked, her heart starting to race. "Does that mean she's a—"

"Lucy," Stefan shook her head at her. "He's under compulsion."

"Do you understand?" the man said forcefully.

"Yes," Elena and Lucy said together.

"We do," Elena added by herself.

"Good," the man nodded, satisfied. He looked down the road, spotting a car in the distance. "I'm done now."

The man stepped backward just as a truck came speeding down the road, horn blasting. His body collided and the sound of his bones snapping could probably haunt Lucy's nightmares forever.

Elena screamed, jumping into Stefan's arms and Lucy gagged, turning away from the scene to place her hands on her knees.

"Come on," Stefan told Elena. "Let's get out of here. Come on, Lucy."

"No," Lucy shrugged herself out of Stefan's way as he reached for her. She needed to stay at the Grill. She had a responsibility and she wasn't going to break it. "I'm staying."

"Lucy, come on," Elena raised her voice, looking back at the accident with wide eyes.

"No!"

Lucy ran back into the Grill, passing an angry Alaric on the way. He paused for a moment, seeing how upset she was, but ultimately decided that he needed to take action against Damon Salvatore. It was time to avenge his wife.

"Hey."

Lucy looked up from the framed picture in her hands, seeing Elena walk into her room. She nodded and scooted over, allowing Elena to climb into the bed with her. She rested her head on her sister's shoulder, drawing comfort and giving it.

"This was Halloween a couple years ago," Elena said in realization.

The picture was taken when Lucy was thirteen; it was the last Halloween that her parents were allowing her to treat-or-treat. Her and Jeremy were wearing matching Thing One and Thing Two costumes, squeezed in between their parents who were dressed as Conrad and Sally. Elena and Joel were on either side of their mom and dad—Joel was reluctantly dressed as the Cat in the Hat and Elena was in a gray suit, acting as Dr. Seuss.

Lucy laughed. "Remember how hard Joel threw a fit?" she asked. "He wanted to go to that party, too."

"Mom and Dad wouldn't let him go because you whined about how much you wanted him to dress as the Cat in the Hat," Elena giggled, remembering the holiday fondly. "Jeremy wanted to be the Hulk."

"I'm good at convincing people to do what I want," Lucy stated matter-of-factly.

"That you do," Elena agreed playfully. She sighed, sobering up when she remembered what she came in her to do. "Uh, I found something when that man got hit by the truck."

Lucy sat up, intrigued. Elena was pretty serious and she didn't know why. "What?"

Elena showed her the burner phone she picked up off the street by the man's body. "Isobel was obviously compelling that man," she said. "I checked and there's only one number…"

"You think it's Isobel's number?" Lucy asked, looking at her sister for confirmation.

Elena nodded. "I do."

"Then call it," Lucy said firmly. "If Isobel's a vampire, we deserve to know."

Elena pressed on the number and put the call on speaker phone. The sisters listened to the phone ring for a couple times before someone answered the call.

"Was there a problem?"

The voice was clearly a woman; Lucy and Elena exchanged wide-eyed looks.

"Did you find them?" the voice continued. "What's going on?"

Lucy nudged Elena, nodding at the phone.

"I-Isobel?" Elena stammered.

It was silent for a moment before the dial tone rang.