[1x20 + 1x21; Blood Brothers + Isobel]

"So, Isobel is supposedly here?" Lucy asked Damon and Alaric from the backseat of Alaric's car, looking out the window to stare at what Grove Hill had to offer. "And you know this because you checked my uncle's phone records?"

Lucy had been in the middle of writing an essay for her English class when Damon called her, telling her that he and Alaric were picking her up for a road trip. It was only when she was situated in Alaric's car that they explained to her that they were checking out a house in Grove Hill where they tracked a number that kept calling John.

"I didn't check them, my college buddy did," Alaric corrected her, turning down the road they were looking for. "And we don't exactly know that it's Isobel."

"Lovely," Lucy sighed, wondering why she agreed to go with them.

"Oh, cheer up, buttercup," Damon turned around and grinned at her. "It's better than babysitting Stefan."

Lucy didn't reply; she didn't want to think about Stefan torturing himself in the cellar of his house. It'd been a week since she drugged him with vervain and even though the human blood was gone from his system—according to Damon—he insisted on being locked up and was refusing to eat. Lucy had been to see him a couple times but the silence between them was deafening and made the guilt she was feeling increase.

"This is the one," Alaric said, parking on the curb in front of a modest, two-story house.

Lucy, Damon, and Alaric got out of the vehicle and walked up the sidewalk leading up to the house.

"The records show this was paid three months in advance," Alaric informed Lucy and Damon.

"This is where it gets tricky," Damon admitted as they came to a stop at the door; he knocked. "I may or may not be able to get in."

"Yeah, how does that work?" Alaric asked, giving Damon a curious look. "You always have to be invited in?"

"By the owner or the person of entitlement," Damon explained. "Short-term rentals and hotels are a bit of a gray area. You kind of gotta play it by ear."

Alaric scoffed as Damon impatiently grabbed the door knob, twisting it so the lock would break.

"Could we not kill anyone tonight, please?" Alaric asked Damon.

"That sounds like a good idea," Lucy agreed.

"You mean you just brought me along for my company?" Damon muttered sarcastically. He broke the lock and swung the door open, allowing Lucy and Alaric to walk into the house.

Lucy looked around, trying to see through the dark. She saw no sign of anyone, though it was tough to see.

"It doesn't look like anyone's home," she commented.

Damon stopped at the threshold and cautiously stuck his foot through; it slipped into the house easily, no barriers detected. "Yeah, I'm good. No permanent resident, apparently."

Lucy hummed and kept walking through the house, stepping into the kitchen. It was much brighter in this room so she was able to see that the house was actually lived in. There were keys on one of the counters and old beer cans piled up in the trash can.

Damon took this time to investigate, too. He opened the fridge and saw that there were about ten blood bags sitting on the shelves. "Uh, guys, we have company."

As soon as Lucy and Alaric turned around at Damon's warning, a man jumped out at Alaric, shoving him up against the wall. Alaric punched the vampire in the abdomen and the vampire lurched away, revealing that Alaric had a wooden stake in his hand. The vampire composed himself and jumped at Alaric again, only to be stopped by Damon.

"Boys, boys, that's enough," he scolded them; Lucy crossed her arms over her chest, relieved that Alaric was all right. Damon got a good look at the vampire as he stood up. "Hey, I know you."

The vampire's face lit up in recognition. "Damon?"

"Your name is Henry," Damon stated. "You were in the tomb."

"Yes, sir," Henry nodded. "What are you doing here?"

Lucy, Damon, and Alaric shared a look before Damon said, "We're looking for John Gilbert."

"Oh," Henry relaxed and walked over to the fridge, pulling out a blood bag. He took off the cap and started pouring the blood into a glass, causing Lucy to look away. "How do you know John Gilbert?"

"He's my uncle," Lucy replied.

"And I've known him for years," Damon added. "He's a good friend. How do you know him?"

"I met him right after I got out of the tomb," Henry threw the empty blood bag into the trash can. "He's been helping me out."

Lucy was intrigued; her uncle was helping a tomb vampire? "Helping you out how?"

"Adapting," Henry set the blood in front of Damon and grabbed another blood bag for himself. "It's a whole new world…cars, computers, …There's so much to learn. He helped me get this place."

"So, do you live here alone or is there someone else here?" Alaric spoke up impatiently.

Henry looked at him weirdly and to resolve any tension that could pop up, Damon interjected, "That's my friend's very…passive-aggressive way of asking if you, uh…do you know a woman named Isobel?"

Henry shook his head. "Uh, no. No, I don't know an Isobel. I know John," he grinned. "He's my only real friend. He really showed me the ropes—how to use a microwave, separate my whites..."

Lucy frowned; Henry seemed like he was a relatively nice guy and she knew that her uncle must have been using him. According to Damon, John was a vampire-hater to his core so there was no way he was helping Henry out of the kindness of his heart.

"What else do you do for him?" Alaric sounded annoyed.

"I help keep an eye on things," Henry revealed casually. "You know, with the others?"

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows. "The others?"

"From the tomb," Henry clarified. "They're still pissed at the Founding Families for trying to burn them alive. I'm cool, but those tomb boys…they want revenge."

Lucy's chest tightened; she was a part of a Founding Family, as was her siblings, Caroline, and Tyler. They were all in danger if the tomb vampires were so desperate for revenge.

"What does John want with them?"

"He's just keeping an eye on them, you know? Trying to make sure they stay out of trouble," Henry stated.

"Well, that's John," Damon scoffed, smiling tensely. "He's such a do-gooder."

A phone ringing broke the silence. Henry pulled out his phone and checked who was calling him, laughing at the coincidence. "That's John now."

Damon stood up quickly. "Oh, hey, let me talk to him," he grabbed the phone from Henry. "All right?"

Henry nodded. "Yeah." When Damon continued to let the phone ring, he narrowed his eyes. "Are you gonna answer that?"

"Am I gonna…answer that?" Damon asked, looking over at Lucy and Alaric.

Alaric shook his head grimly and Lucy frowned.

Henry looked back and forth between Lucy and Alaric and Damon. "What's going on?"

Damon didn't answer and Henry reacted, hissing as his vampires featured came to play. He went to attack Alaric and Lucy but was pulled back by Damon, allowing Alaric to stake him in the back, right to his heart.

Henry groaned as he started desiccating and Damon and Alaric allowed him to flop to the floor.

"Let's not kill anyone tonight," Damon mocked Alaric, patting his shoulder. "Your words. Just pointing that out."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Damon."

The three of them split up to look for any sign of Isobel with Damon taking the kitchen, Alaric taking the dining room, and Lucy searching the living room. Lucy didn't find anything of significance, nor did Alaric, because he walked into the living room five minutes after they split up.

"Find anything yet?" Damon asked, waltzing into the living room.

"Nope," Lucy shook her head, sitting on the couch next to Alaric.

"No, I looked everywhere," Alaric sighed, depressed. "The place is clean."

Damon frowned and tossed a beer at Alaric and a can of soda at Lucy. "Well, I found these behind the blood in the fridge," he held a blood bag for himself and took a sip.

Alaric opened the beer and took a large sip of it. "Oh, man, this was a real dead-end."

"I wouldn't beat myself up over it, man," Damon sat down in the armchair next to Lucy and Alaric. "What did you think you were gonna find, huh? Isobel with a cigar and slippers?"

Lucy opened her mouth to tell Damon off, but Alaric actually chuckled.

"Oh, man," he sighed, his amusement falling away. "I gotta stop this. I can't—I can't keep searching for her."

"Really?" Damon asked, surprised. "After only two years? That's actually…moderately healthy."

Lucy snickered under her breath; said the guy who waiting a hundred and forty-five years for Katherine…

"What are you going on?" Alaric asked, thinking the same as Lucy. "146?"

Damon shrugged. "Well, I figure the two hundred mark is probably a good stopping point."

Alaric laughed. "I mean, no answer's enough," he decided. "I keep thinking I wanna know why, when…you know, the precise moment when my wife decided life with me wasn't enough."

"She charmed me, your wife, Isobel," Damon shared, taking a sip of blood. "She talked a good game, man. She was smart. She had this excitement in her eyes. I probably should have known there was something different about her, some tie to Katherine. There had to be some reason I didn't kill her…"

Lucy noticed how agitated Alaric was getting as Damon talked. "Damon," she warned, wanting him to stop for Alaric's sake. "That's enough."

"I don't wanna hear anymore," Alaric scowled, irritated and hurt that his wife was so eager to leave him. "I just don't want to waste any more of my life, searching for answers that I really don't want. I'm through with Isobel…I'm done with all of this."

Lucy hoped that she wasn't included in the things Alaric was done with. Despite only knowing who he was to her for only a month or so, she was starting to care for him.

"Ugh, God," Damon groaned as he and Lucy walked into the Boarding House and saw Elena studying on the couch. "You're still here?"

"Were you expecting anything else?" Elena scooted over as Lucy plopped down next to her.

"Nope," Damon threw himself down next to Lucy, squishing her between him and Elena.

"Get off of me!" Lucy groaned, chuckling a little bit as she tried to push him off of her. "Damon!"

"Shh…be quiet."

"So," Elena spoke up, closing her textbook and looking at her sister and the oldest Salvatore. "How was your errand?"

"Futile," Damon sighed. "Although, I think I witnessed the teacher having an existential crisis."

"You're such an ass," Lucy scoffed, elbowing him in the arm. She turned to Elena and asked, "Has Stefan eaten yet?"

Damon groaned. "Oh, is he still brooding?"

Elena shook her head at Lucy's question but to Damon she said, "I thought you didn't care."

Damon shrugged. "Chalk it up to morbid curiosity."

"I think he's getting there," Elena said thoughtfully. "But he's got a lot of guilt that he has to deal with and it doesn't help that you've spent the last 145 years punishing him for Katherine getting caught."

"This is my fault now?" Damon asked, taken aback.

"No, it's no one's fault, Damon," Elena shook her head. "I'm just saying, you're not exactly innocent. You've made it your life's mission to make him miserable."

Lucy felt Damon stiffen at Elena's words. Damon jumped to his feet, an angry look on his face.

"Let me ask you a question," he sneered at Elena. "In all this important soul-searching and cleansing of the demons of Stefan's past, did you ever manage to get the rest of the story?"

"He said there was more."

Damon scoffed and began to walk away. "Yeah, that's an understatement."

Elena ran after him, grabbing his arm to turn him around to face her. "Damon, tell me what happened."

Damon walked over to the bar and picked up a decanter of bourbon. While he poured himself a drink, he told Lucy and Elena how back in 1864, Stefan came back from killing their father, fully transitioned into a vampire. Drunk on blood, Stefan brought along one of the town girls and forced Damon to drink from her, completing his own transition.

Lucy was shocked; she didn't know about any of this. Stefan hadn't told her that he killed his father and she didn't blame him for keeping it a secret. It sounded like he still carried that guilt—and the guilt over forcing Damon to transition—to this day.

It also made her look at Stefan and Damon's dynamic in a different way. Neither of them were truly bad or good—there were good parts and bad parts in both of them.

"From the moment Stefan had his first taste of human blood, he was a different person," Damon said, gulping down half of his drink. "I suppose I should thank him. It's been a hell of a ride."

"Oh, my God," Elena realized. "He said he wanted to die. That's why he won't feed. Now I understand why, but…"

"His choice," Damon shrugged, pouring himself some more bourbon. "If he's stupid enough to make it, so be it."

Elena gave him a disappointed look. "Don't do that, okay? Don't pretend like you don't care."

She angrily stomped out of the room, making Lucy call after her, "Where are you going?"

Elena didn't answer but she did come back a mere minute later, holding Stefan's daylight ring. She rushed out of the house, not bothering to reply to Lucy's questions about where Stefan was and why she was holding his ring.

Damon calmed her down somewhat, telling her that Elena had most likely gone to stop Stefan from burning himself in the sun. Lucy knew that Elena would succeed and save Stefan so she forced herself to relax.

She so desperately wanted to ask Damon more about what happened the night he and Stefan died but she could tell he wasn't in the mood. He was quiet and didn't bother to say anything sarcastic as they waited for their siblings to come back. All he did was tinkering with something in his hands.

"What's that?" Lucy asked quietly, gesturing to the thing he was playing with.

"Not sure," Damon held it up so Lucy could see it more clearly. It looked like the Gilbert compass but there when he opened it up, there was no pointer. "Pearl gave it to me. Your uncle is looking for it."

"Why?"

"I'll let you know when I find out myself, Twitch," Damon sighed.

Lucy nodded and at that moment, the front door opened and Elena and Stefan walked in. Lucy was so relieved that Elena was able to stop Stefan from killing himself and that Stefan was in one piece.

It was nice to see him feeling better.

"Little boy lost," Damon drawled, looking at his brother.

Stefan didn't reply; he simply stared at Damon with sad eyes. Noticing the tension, Elena spoke up.

"I'll be upstairs," she told Stefan before looking at Lucy and gesturing at the staircase. "Lucy?"

Lucy could take a hint. "Yeah, me too," she nodded and stood up, giving Damon a small smile. "Goodnight, Damon," she grinned at Stefan as she passed him and added, "Good to have you back."

As she followed Elena upstairs, she asked her, "Do you think you could drop me off at home later? Damon was my ride…"

Alcohol was the perfect thing Alaric needed to end his night of searching for his missing wife. After tonight, he was going to let go of her and move on with his life. He had his daughter now, why did he need to hold onto someone who left him?

"Hello, Ric."

Alaric almost choked on his drink when he heard that familiar voice but he managed to swallow correctly. It had been years and now, just as he was going to move on, she decided to show up?

He slowly turned to face her. "Isobel."

She looked just as gorgeous as she did the last time he saw her. Her dark hair that she passed onto Lucy was straight as a pin and pulled into fashionable ponytail and her make-up was much darker than he had seen her wear before. A large, blue pendent sat on her chest and he assumed it was what allowed her to walk in the sun. She still looked like his wife but there was something about her eyes that threw him off.

Isobel laughed lightly. "It's good to see you," she told him with a smile. "You look good. I hear that you're a high school history teacher? How is that?"

Alaric didn't want to answer any questions; he had a few of his own she needed to answer. "Where have you been, Isobel?"

"I don't have any reasons that are gonna comfort you," Isobel shook her head. "I don't have any explanations that are gonna satisfy you. I wanted this."

"Is it that simple?"

"Yeah," Isobel confirmed. "You were supposed to mourn me and move on."

"You were my wife and I loved you," Alaric rasped, not understanding how she thought he'd be able to move on. "How could I not search for you?"

"Because I wasn't lost, Ric," Isobel grabbed the napkin that was in front of her on the bar and pulled out a pen from her purse. She wrote down her phone number on the napkin and slid it over to Alaric. "I understand that you met our daughter and her sister, Elena, and I hear they've been looking for me. I want you to arrange for a meeting with us."

Alaric grabbed the napkin, looking over the numbers she wrote. "You want me," he cleared his throat. "To deliver a message?"

Isobel smiled. "Yeah."

"Screw you," Alaric threw the napkin on the bar and stood up. As he passed Isobel to leave, he added, "You selfish bitch."

He couldn't believe that she was standing right in front of him and was asking him to set up a meeting for her, Lucy, and Elena. That was all she was approaching for after several years of marriage and two more years spent looking for her.

Alaric purposefully walked out of the Grill, fumbling as he tried to pull his car keys out of his pocket. Once he had them in his hands, he clicked the key remote and unlocked his car, opening the driver's door.

He heard a whoosh from behind him and turned around, seeing Isobel standing in front of him casually.

"What do you want from me?" Alaric demanded angrily.

"I told you."

"I'm not going to do anything for you."

Isobel sped toward Alaric in a blur, wrapping her hand around his neck and shoving him up against his car. She hissed at him, her vampire features on full display while she squeezed his neck threateningly.

"You better tell Elena and Lucy that I want to meet or I'm gonna start killing the citizens of this town one by one…and I'm gonna start with your history students," she demanded, watching unemotionally as Alaric struggled to breathe under her assault. "Got it?"

Isobel didn't wait for a reply—she threw Alaric a few feet away from her and dropped the napkin that had her number on it for him to find. She didn't care as she heard him gasp for breath as she walked away.

"I'm so excited," Caroline sighed dreamily as she and Lucy walked through the school to the cafeteria where the juniors and seniors had the whole day off to create floats for the Founder's Day parade. "I have the perfect plan for my float and it fits all the criteria you and Mrs. Lockwood gave me."

Lucy smiled, still so proud that Caroline was Miss Mystic Falls. "I'm sure your float is going to be fantastic, Carebear."

"Thank you!" Caroline beamed. She stopped Lucy from walking into the cafeteria and warned her, "Bonnie is helping us, okay? I don't know what's going on with you two and Elena, but we're supposed to be working together for this."

"Care, I don't have a problem with Bonnie," Lucy said truthfully—it was Bonnie that wanted to stay away from Elena and now her. "Don't worry about it. Everything is going to be perfect."

Lucy emphasized her statement by pulling Caroline into a quick, reassuring hug. She winced when Caroline squeezed her tightly but couldn't contain her amused laugh.

"Can we go in now?" she asked, pulling away from Caroline's tight grip. "I'm dying to see your design."

"All right, all right."

The girls walked into the cafeteria and located Bonnie easily at their regular lunch table, a pile of notebooks in front of her. They walked over to the table and set their stuff down, exchanging greetings with Bonnie. It was a little awkward with Lucy and Bonnie but it was nothing that Lucy couldn't handle—Bonnie was one of her closest friends and she wasn't going to give up on a decade-long friendship.

"All right, show me," Bonnie commanded, wanting to see Caroline's plan for the Miss Mystic float.

"Okay, let's reference last year's Miss Mystic float," Caroline opened her laptop and typed for a couple of seconds, clicking on a picture and turning her laptop around so Lucy and Bonnie could see. "This is what they did last year and this is exactly what we don't want to do."

"Gross."

"Ew."

Lucy and Bonnie said in unison, wrinkling their noses at the basic float that was pictured. Nothing stood out about it and Caroline was all about standing out.

"Okay, so, what are we doing?" Bonnie continued.

Caroline smiled. "Southern classic elegance."

"'Gone with the Wind'?" Lucy asked, raising her eyebrows.

It wasn't hard to guess; Caroline had been obsessed with the film ever since they were forced to watch it in middle school. One of her favorite influences was Scarlett O'Hara herself.

"How'd you know?" Caroline pouted.

Bonnie laughed and gave Caroline a deadpan expression. "You channel Scarlett daily."

"So true," Caroline chuckled, making Lucy and Bonnie laugh as well.

Suddenly there was a throat clearing above them. Lucy saw that it was Alaric and he was looking dead serious.

"Hi, Mr. Saltzman," she greeted him cautiously.

"Lucy, we need to talk," he stated seriously. "Come with me."

Lucy nodded, confused with what was going on, and stood up. "Okay," she looked at Caroline and Bonnie. "I'll be back."

"Okay," Caroline gave her a worried look but Lucy smiled, hoping to ease her mind.

Lucy followed Alaric into his classroom where Elena and Stefan were already waiting for them. Whatever Alaric had to tell them must have been important to need to call a little meeting.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked, looking from Stefan and Elena to Alaric.

"Isobel's in town," Alaric delivered the blow, looking straight at Lucy. "And she's asking to meet with you and Elena."

In shock, Lucy leaned against the wall of windows. Why did Isobel reveal herself to Alaric now? Why did she want to meet with her and Elena after compelling that man to tell them to quit looking for her?

Lucy felt warmth on her upper back and looked to her left, seeing that Stefan had placed a steady hand on her and was trying to comfort her. She smiled softly, finding that his presence did help her feel better.

"Why does she want to meet with us?" Elena asked Alaric, eyebrows furrowed.

"I don't know," Alaric shook his head. "But she threatened to start killing people if you don't meet her."

"Great," Lucy snarked, covering up her worry. "Our biological mother is a freaking psychopath."

Elena gave Lucy a stern look but didn't bother to say anything—she was right anyway.

The door opened and Damon walked into the room with a casual swagger.

"Damon, thanks for coming," Alaric welcomed him.

"Sorry, I'm late. My dog ate my, uh…" Damon paused, seeing the frowns on everyone's faces. "What's with all the furrowed brows?"

"I saw Isobel last night," Alaric told him.

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

When Alaric nodded, Damon looked right at Elena, his face softening. He shook his head after a few seconds and focused back on Alaric.

"Did you ask her about Uncle John?" he quizzed Alaric. "Are they working together?"

"No."

"No, they're not?"

"No, I didn't ask," Alaric stated.

"What about the invention?"

"Didn't ask."

"Did she know about the tomb vampires?"

"I don't know."

Damon glared at him. "Did words completely escape you?"

"Damon…" Lucy narrowed her eyes at the older Salvatore brother. Why was she the one constantly playing mediator with him and Alaric?

"I was a little too distracted by my dead vampire-wife to ask any questions," Alaric defended himself.

"Well, what'd she want?"

"She wants to see us, Damon," Elena spoke up.

Damon turned to Elena, eyes wide and concerned.

"Alaric is supposed to arrange a meeting," Stefan informed his brother. "We don't know why or what she wants."

"You don't have to see if her you don't want to," Damon told her softly.

Lucy looked between him and Elena, wondering what was happening with them. Damon was all warm and concerned with Elena like he wasn't with anyone else, including his own brother. Elena's gaze was soft, too, like she was relying on him for comfort rather than Stefan.

"We don't really have a choice," Elena said quietly.

"She's threatening to go on a killing spree," Alaric added.

"Oh," Damon blinked. "I take it that's not okay with you guys."

"I want to do it," Elena declared. "I want to meet her. If I don't, I know I'll regret it."

Lucy didn't know what to do; obviously she didn't want Isobel to kill anyone, but she was very nervous about meeting her biological mother. She didn't know if meeting Isobel would disturb the memories she had of her mom or if she was just going to be disappointed with Isobel in general.

But it looked like she didn't have a choice…what Elena says, goes.

"Lucy?" Stefan caught her attention, seeing the dazed look in her eyes. She turned to him, almost subconsciously. "What do you think?"

"It doesn't matter what I think," Lucy said decidedly. "Isobel is going to kill people if we don't meet with her."

"Well, it's settled," Alaric said grimly. "I'll contact Isobel."

Lucy sat next to Elena at a table in full view of the pool tables, listening to the music playing over the speakers and trying not to freak out about meeting Isobel. She sipped at the cappuccino that the waitress just brought over and ignored the way Elena was having a one-sided conversation with Stefan who was playing pool by himself, watching over them in case Isobel tried anything.

Lucy looked up when Elena went silent and a shadow fell over their table. Isobel Flemming stood before them, taking off her jacket and placing it neatly on the back of her chair. She didn't say anything until she was settled in her seat.

"Hello, girls," she greeted them calmly. She focused on Elena first, fascinated by her resemblance to Katherine. "You look just like her. It's eerie."

Lucy raised her eyebrows, surprised, while Elena asked, "You've met Katherine."

"She found me after I turned. Genetic curiosity, I suppose," Isobel stated. "She would be fascinated by you," she turned to Lucy, then. "You have Ric's cheekbones…and his eyes…very weird…"

Confused by Isobel's statement, Lucy cleared her throat and focused on the large lapis lazuli stone hanging around Isobel's neck. "Is that how you walk in the sun?"

Isobel lazily picked up her pendent. "Katherine helped me obtain it," her eyes drifted down Lucy's face to the moonstone locket resting against her breastbone. "Very nice locket."

Lucy looked at her locket, uncomfortable, and then looked at Elena, silently pleading that she would say something. Isobel was freaking her out.

Elena got the hint. "Who's my father?" she asked Isobel curtly.

"Not important," Isobel said flippantly. "He was a teenage waste of space."

"A name would be nice."

"It would, wouldn't it?" Isobel stared firmly at Elena. "You two ask a lot of questions."

Proving her right, Elena asked, "Why did you compel that man to kill himself right after he told us to stop looking for you?"

"Dramatic impact," Isobel shook her head slightly. "I wish it would have been more effective."

Lucy recoiled slightly. Damon was one of the fiercest vampires she had come across, yet even he didn't kill people just for dramatic impact—that she knew of. Her biological mother was here, in front of her, and she didn't even care that she killed someone for no reason.

"Human life means that little to you?" she asked, not bothering to hide her shock.

Isobel smiled pleasantly. "It means nothing to me. It's just part of being what I am."

Lucy didn't buy it; Stefan cared for everyone's humanity, whether they were a supernatural creature or a human. Hell, even Anna cared about Jeremy and Damon cared about Elena.

"No, it's not," Elena argued. "I know other vampires. That's not true."

"You mean your boyfriend over there by the pool table, Stefan Salvatore?" Isobel said calmly. "Why Stefan? Why didn't you go for Damon?" she leaned forward, as if she wanted gossip about Elena's life. "Or are you enjoying them both like Katherine did?"

Lucy's mouth opened slightly, shocked—and a little bit amused—by Isobel's question. Still, to an outsider, was that what Elena's relationships with the Salvatores looked like? Just a repeat of history?

"Why did you want to meet us?" Lucy changed the subject, seeing that Elena was too shocked by Isobel's question. "It can't just be to catch up."

"Because I'm curious about you two," Isobel stated but then hesitated and added, "But the real reason is that I want what your uncle wants. Jonathan Gilbert's invention."

Lucy and Elena exchanged an uncomfortable look.

"How do you know our uncle?" Lucy asked.

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

"So, what made you want to be one?"

"It's a very long list of reasons, Elena," Isobel answered Elena. "All of which I'm sure you've thought about."

Elena shook her head at Isobel's assumption.

"That was your first lie," Isobel pointed out. "It's inevitable. You're going to get old and Stefan won't. Forever doesn't last very long when you're human."

Surprisingly, Lucy felt her stomach drop that those words. She didn't want to be a vampire but she didn't like the thought of not having Stefan in her life. He had become a permanent fixture since he walked into the school on the first day and she couldn't imagine what this year would have been like without him. She couldn't imagine where she'd be without him.

Why was she even this upset, though? She and Stefan weren't in a relationship—they were just friends. She didn't have the right to be so concerned about her aging and Stefan staying the same.

"I'm sorry, but we don't have what you're looking for," Elena spat, standing up and grabbing Lucy's wrist to pull her to her feet.

Isobel grabbed Lucy's free wrist to stop them from walking away.

"Sit down," she threatened them, lightly squeezing Lucy's wrist. "and tell your boyfriend to walk away."

Lucy glanced at Stefan for a split second, seeing that he was on his way over, and sat right back down, Isobel still holding onto her for leverage against Elena. Elena reluctantly sat down, giving Stefan a significant look, and Isobel let go of Lucy.

"I want the invention," Isobel restated, her voice harder than before.

Lucy exhaled harshly. "We don't have the stupid invention!"

"I know that, but Damon does—" Isobel looked right at Elena. "—and you're going to get it for me."

Elena shook her head. "He's not going to give it to me."

"Then the blood will be on your hands," Isobel said flatly. She gathered her jacket and purse and stood up. As she walked away, she added, "It was nice meeting you, girls."

Lucy felt her face warm up dramatically and her eyes sting, tears forming. She squeezed her eyes shut for a long second and opened them, standing up from the table. She pushed past Stefan and even Bonnie as she walked out of the Grill; she just needed a moment. And she needed—

Joel was standing on the sidewalk outside of the Grill, smiling sadly at her. Lucy let out a huge breath and ran toward him, wrapping him into the tightest hug she could manage. He was exactly who she needed and she was glad he was there, even if she was confused with his presence.

Joel laid his chin on the top of Lucy's head and rubbed her back, trying to comfort her. When Stefan called about Isobel being in town, he wasn't going to stay at Whitmore and party while his sisters met their biological mother. His siblings needed him in Mystic Falls, so that's where he'd be.

The crinkling of fast food wrappers was louder than the music coming from Joel's radio but Lucy didn't really care to listen to the rap music that her brother preferred. All she cared about at the moment was the delicious bagel sandwich clenched firmly in her hands and how sad she would be when she ate all of it.

"How long are you staying?" Lucy asked Joel in between bites.

"I'll leave after Founder's Day," Joel sighed, crumpling up his burger wrapper. "I already had to dodge two conversations with John, I don't want to give him any more opportunities to corner me."

"Do you think he knows about you?" Lucy wondered; if John knew his nephew was a vampire, would he kill him? Did being family only get you so far?

"I wouldn't doubt it," Joel shook his head bitterly. "Especially if he's working with Isobel."

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I saw Isobel walking out of the Grill last night and I recognized her," Joel admitted. "Luce, she's the one who turned me."

Lucy choked on the bit of sandwich she bit into and forcefully swallowed. "What?" she wheezed. "Isobel?"

"The one and only."

"If I didn't hate her before, I definitely do now," Lucy scoffed, disgusted that she was related to that monster. She grabbed Joel's arm and gave him a comforting squeeze. "I'm so sorry, Joel."

Joel smiled at her. "Don't worry about it," he sighed. "Being a vampire's not that bad. I've got the blood drinking pretty much under control. I'll never age and I'll be a stud forever."

"You're going to have to watch me, Elena, and Jeremy die one day," Lucy pointed out with a frown.

"And I'll be devastated," Joel conceded, a sad glint in his eyes at the thought of losing his siblings. "But I'll be able to look after your children and your grandchildren and so on. And if I can remember you guys, you'll never really be gone."

Lucy felt her eyes tingle with tears at the sentimentality and honesty in Joel's voice.

"That was really sweet, Joel," her voice trembled emotionally.

Joel grinned at Lucy and then winked. "Don't tell anyone about this," he teased. "My hard reputation will die."

"What hard reputation?" Lucy scoffed. "Joel, you're still known around school as the football player who cried over an injured pigeon and nursed it until it was healthy again."

Joel shrugged. "Chicks dig a sensitive guy."

"You're an asshole!" Lucy laughed. When she calmed down, she asked, "So you really drove an hour and a half just because Stefan called you?"

"You and Elena are my sisters, of course I would come," Joel said seriously. "And Stefan was really worried about you in particular."

"Why?"

Joel shrugged. "I'm not sure…but it's nice to know he's looking out for you, too."

"Yeah…"

Why would Stefan call Joel for her? And why did the thought of him looking out for her make her stomach twist pleasantly?

"Come on," Joel interrupted her thoughts. "Your lunch break only has ten minutes left and Caroline would probably have her mom send out an APB if you're not back in time."

Lucy laughed half-heartedly, still thinking about Stefan. "Yeah, she probably would."

"Did Bonnie say what she wanted because I'm pretty sure Caroline is going to murder me," Lucy whispered to Elena as they walked through the hallway to the chemistry room where Bonnie asked to meet them. "When did you and Bonnie start talking again, anyway?"

"She didn't say what she wanted," Elena sighed. "And she came to the house this morning and we made up."

"Well, that's great," Lucy smiled, happy that the two best friends were back together.

Elena smiled back at her and opened the door to the chemistry room they approached. Bonnie was sitting inside at a lab table, Emily's grimoire opened in front of her.

"Hey, Bon," Lucy smiled tentatively, hoping that Bonnie would be willing to speak to her again, as well.

"Hey, Luce," Bonnie grinned back at her; Lucy sighed in relief. "Thanks for meeting me, you guys. I wanted you to see this."

"That's Emily's grimoire, right?" Lucy guessed, scooting down the table some so Elena could see.

Bonnie nodded. "I've been going through it since Grams died," she pointed to the page that had a couple drawings on it of the Gilbert compass that detected vampires.

"That's the vampire compass," Elena recognized it, too.

"Yep," Bonnie confirmed. "According to Emily, Jonathan Gilbert never actually succeeded in inventing anything. Emily secretly spelled them all with magic. The compass—" she turned the page, where there were sketches of Alaric and John's rings. "—rings, and the mystery device you told me about."

Bonnie turned the page again and this time, the drawing was of the device that Damon got from Pearl, who stole it from Jonathan Gilbert back in 1864. It was the same device that Isobel was asking her and Elena for.

"That's it," Lucy nodded.

"Well, a part of it," Elena corrected her sister. "Damon only has one piece."

"Emily pledged her loyalty to Katherine, but she couldn't stand by and watch innocent people get killed," Bonnie informed them. "This was the only way she could think of to help—to let Jonathan Gilbert believe that he'd actually invented these devices."

Lucy frowned thoughtfully and looked back to the drawing; the device looked kind of like a crude version of a music box. "Does the grimoire say what the device does?"

Bonnie hummed and bent over the grimoire, reading through Emily's messy but beautiful handwriting. When she finished reading, she looked at the sisters with wide eyes.

"Are you sure this is what Isobel wants?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Elena stated. "Why?"

Bonnie looked at Lucy and Elena seriously. "This is a weapon against vampires."

The parking lot was absolutely filled with juniors and seniors working on the floats for the Founder's Day parade. Music played loudly from a stereo someone had brought and everyone was in a good mood.

Lucy and Elena weren't two of those people in good moods. The fact that Isobel wanted a device that harmed vampires was confusing—why would she want something that could be used against her? At the same time, there was something fishy about the fact that Isobel wanted it…

"Elena! Lucy!" Lucy heard the voice of their younger brother call for them. "Hey!"

Lucy and Elena stopped walking as Jeremy approached them. Lucy was surprised that he was seeking them out; he had hardly said one word to her since she spilled the beans about vampires, Vicki's death, and Damon compelling him.

"Hey, have you seen Stefan?" Elena asked him absentmindedly. "I need to find him."

"No, not lately," Jeremy said quickly, not really caring if he had seen Stefan or not. "Listen, do you guys have a second?"

"Of course, Jere," Lucy gave him a small smile. "What's up? What's going on?"

"Well, it's Anna," Jeremy admitted. "I've left her all these messages but she hasn't gotten back to me, not even a text."

Lucy bit her lip, worried, but Elena gave him a confused look.

"Anna?" she said. "I didn't know you guys were still friends."

"Yeah, we're more than friends."

Lucy was glad that Jeremy was moving on from Vicki, even if it was with Anna. The only thing that she had against Anna was the fact that she was using Jeremy but if Jeremy himself could forgive her, then Lucy could too. Besides, it seemed like Anna really brought the best out of her little brother and that was great.

"Look," Jeremy continued. "Something could be seriously wrong and if you know anything, you guys have to tell me."

"I haven't seen or heard from her, Jere," Lucy promised him sincerely. "Honest."

Jeremy turned to Elena, waiting for her response.

Elena shook her head. "I haven't talked to her, Jere."

"Are you lying to me right now?" Jeremy asked her quietly.

Elena bristled at his accusation. "Why would you say that?"

"'Cause that's what you do, Elena," Jeremy sneered. "You lie. You lie about everything. I know what Anna is and I know that you know because Lucy told me."

Elena turned and glowered at Lucy but Lucy didn't let it affect her. Jeremy needed to know, especially if he was going to be in a romantic relationship with Anna. She didn't know about them when she told him about everything, but she didn't want to lie to him anymore.

"So, tell me," Jeremy glared at Elena, causing Elena to look back at him. "Do you have any idea where she is."

"No," Elena said truthfully. "but Jere—"

Jeremy walked away from Lucy and Elena before Elena could give him a lecture that not only did he not want but didn't have time for.

"Jeremy, wait!" Elena called after him. Jeremy continued to walk away and Elena turned to Lucy. "This is all your fault."

"My fault?" Lucy gasped in disbelief. How was this her fault? She had the courage to tell Jeremy what happened and now she was to blame for everything? "You shouldn't have had Damon compel him about Vicki or hide this from him."

"You lied, too!"

"I lied because you gave me no choice," Lucy hissed and if she had hackles, they'd be raised. "And I came clean. You were never going to tell him!"

"Of course, I wasn't!"

"Elena, Joel is a vampire," Lucy lowered her voice so anyone passing couldn't hear what she was saying. "Jeremy needed to know, plain and simple."

A throat being cleared distracted both of them.

"What?" they snapped in unison, turning to the person who disturbed them.

Lucy flinched back when she saw that it was Isobel.

"Isobel," Elena said nervously. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm your mother," Isobel stated. "I want to be more involved in both of your lives."

Elena glanced at Lucy for a second and then glared at Isobel. "We don't want you in our lives."

"So, you can leave," Lucy added.

Isobel gave Lucy a disappointed look. "I understand that. You guys already have a lot of people that you care about but I've been studying. Let's see if I got this right—" Isobel turned and looked at Bonnie who was walking across the parking lot. "—there's your best friend and Lucy's witchy classmate. Gonna stay away from that one."

"Oh, sad little brother, Jeremy," Isobel continued, looking at Jeremy who was talking to Joel. "And your big brother, Joel—I hope he's transitioning well into the vampire lifestyle."

Lucy glowered at Isobel; knowing that she was the one who turned Joel made her comment even worse.

"And there's Caroline—" Isobel went on, turning in the direction of Caroline's float. She was sitting on one of the structures, gluing down the little paper balls that adorned the rest of it. "—obnoxious Caroline, Lucy's bestie. I got all of my info from her, by the way. She had no idea who I was and she wouldn't stop yapping. Oh," she looked at Matt a few feet away from Caroline. "And there's Matt—friend, ex, yappy's future ex. Lots of connections there."

"Matt's not involved in this," Elena angrily told Isobel.

"He's involved with you, isn't he?" Isobel shot back.

Lucy could feel her temper boiling under her skin. "I think you should leave," she spat at Isobel. "Or I'll make you. Have you ever been siphoned from? I heard it doesn't feel so great?"

Isobel smirked at her. "I'm not leaving and you're not touching me," she said calmly. "See, I have some friends here, too. Look—" she pointed to an older guy in a cowboy hat standing near Matt. "You see that man over there, standing next to Matt by the float? His name is Frank. He's very handsome and he's also quite handy and he noticed that the axle was kind of rusted which is very dangerous. All you have to do is apply a little bit of pressure and—"

Lucy looked on, horrified, as Isobel's minion jumped onto the float, making it break and land on Matt's arm. Matt screamed in pain and Lucy went to run over but Isobel grasped her elbow, grip painfully tight.

"Hey, pick this trailer up!" Matt shouted through his pain. "Come on, guys, lift it up! Help me!"

Tyler came rushing through the crowd, a couple of football players behind him, and grabbed the trailer. All of them worked together to try and lift it off of Matt but they weren't strong enough.

"Lift!" Tyler said urgently. "Come on!"

Stefan and Joel came running through the students who gathered around to look at Matt and slipped between Tyler and another guy. Both of them lifted the trailer with ease, allowing Matt to slip out from underneath it.

As Caroline rushed over to Matt, Lucy turned back to Isobel, tears of fury in her eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" she gritted through her teeth.

"I'm showing you how easy it is to hurt the people you care about," Isobel stated matter-of-factly.

"You're doing this just because of Jonathan Gilbert's invention?" Elena asked angrily.

"Hand it over and the fun will stop."

"Elena and I both told you we don't have the invention!" Lucy exclaimed. "Damon won't give it to us, okay?"

"He'll give it to Elena," Isobel said, looking at her oldest daughter. "I think you underestimate how much Damon cares about you."

"He'll kill you before he gives it up," Elena told Isobel.

"Is that before or after I kill your brother, Jeremy?"

Lucy felt her blood turn to ice as she turned to the spot where she last saw Jeremy and Joel at. Joel was with Matt and Caroline but Jeremy was no where to be seen.

"What the hell?" she breathed anxiously, looking at Elena and Isobel only to see that Isobel was gone. "Where'd she go?"

"I don't know," Elena said before shouting, "Jeremy?"

Lucy joined in, "Jeremy?"

"Where is the device?" Bonnie asked as she, Stefan, Elena, Lucy, and Joel gathered in Alaric's classroom.

"Damon," Stefan answered her. "He's going to be difficult to reason with."

"So we don't try," Joel shrugged; he wasn't going to chance Jeremy's life on Damon's stubbornness. "I'll take him out, you guys get the device. Easy-peasy."

"Damon's stronger than you," Stefan pointed out.

"Well, right now, I have more to lose," Joel glared at the youngest Salvatore. "Which makes me desperate and angry."

"We're not taking Damon out," Elena declared, glaring at Joel. Lucy rolled her eyes. "I'll talk to him."

"He's not just gonna hand it over, especially if it's harmful to vampires," Stefan sighed. "Maybe Joel is right."

"No," Elena said immediately.

Lucy couldn't believe Elena right now. She was bargaining Jeremy's life because she didn't want Damon to have a snapped neck just for a little while. If Stefan—Damon's own brother—agreed with Joel, why wasn't Elena?

Nevertheless, Lucy started to think about different options. There had to be a way to give Isobel what she wanted and not let Stefan, Joel, and Damon get hurt in the process.

"What if it's not harmful to vampires?" Lucy spoke up; everyone looked at her. "Hello? I'm a siphon. I take away the spell and we can give it to Isobel."

"That would work," Stefan gave Lucy a smile of approval that made her chest tighten.

"Bonnie?" Elena looked at her for approval which annoyed Lucy.

Why couldn't her sister believe in her abilities just as much as she believed in Bonnie's?

Bonnie sighed. "If it was another spell, it would work," she grabbed her grimoire and opened it up to the page on the device. "See this symbol?"

Bonnie pointed to the corner of the page where an upside down 'T' was written.

"This means that Emily made it so the spell couldn't be siphoned," Bonnie explained, giving Lucy a sympathetic look.

Lucy didn't understand; how could a spell not be siphoned? It was magic and she siphoned magic. It didn't make a lick of sense to her.

"Okay, but is there another way to make it so the device doesn't work?" Joel asked Bonnie.

Bonnie looked at the grimoire and bit her lip after a few seconds. She looked back up at everyone and nodded. "I can reverse the spell."

Everyone eventually agreed that they were going with the plan of Bonnie reversing the spell. Lucy and Joel—and even Stefan—wanted to just snap Damon's neck and take the device while he was knocked out, but Elena still wasn't having it. They were wasting time arguing about it, so they just decided to go along with Elena's plan.

It irked Lucy that they were calling it Elena's plan when it was Lucy and Bonnie who came up with it. Elena was just on her last nerve today, she guessed.

They met up with Damon in the library of the Salvatore Boarding House twenty minutes later. As soon as they presented their plan about the Gilbert device, Damon rejected it vehemently.

"Absolutely not."

"Hear me out," Elena begged.

"I'm not gonna give the device to Isobel so she can give it to John who's gonna turn around and kill me," Damon proclaimed. "I like being a living-dead person."

Lucy gritted her teeth; she was done playing around. "If you don't give us the device so Bonnie can reverse the spell, I'll kill you," she threatened Damon. "I don't care that you're Stefan's brother, got it?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "I'd like to see you try, Twitch."

Lucy immediately reached for her locket, only to be blocked by Stefan. He grabbed her hand and pulled it away from her neck, holding it with both of his hands to keep her still. She sent him a heavy glare but he smiled slightly, knowing that she wouldn't siphon from him on purpose.

Damon sent her a triumphant look that had Joel hissing in warning.

"Anyway," Elena gave Lucy a glare that Lucy sent back heatedly and turned to Damon. "The device would be useless. Bonnie can take its power away."

"I don't trust her."

"I can remove the original spell," Bonnie spoke up from next to Joel.

"John and Isobel will never know," Elena finished.

"No," Damon denied them. "I'll get Jeremy my own way."

"Really?" Joel asked heatedly; Damon hummed. "How are you gonna do that? Isobel's a vampire and Jeremy could be dead the second you walk in the door."

Damon seemed to consider this. He turned to Bonnie and asked, "Are you even up for this? I mean, no offense…you're no Emily Bennett. Emily knew what she was doing."

"I've been practicing."

"It's not piano lessons, honey."

Bonnie stepped closer to Damon, rising to his silent challenge. "What's your favorite book?"

Damon furrowed his eyebrows, bewildered at the change in conversation. "What?"

"Name a book, any book."

"Name a book," Damon repeated with a sigh. "How about 'Call of the Wild', Jack London."

Bonnie turned to face one wall of book shelves and inhaled deeply. An old book sprung out of a row of books and flew across the room, right into Damon's hands.

Damon read the title and confirmed that it was the right book. "Jack London," he threw the book on the floor. "Great parlor trick."

Lucy gave Bonnie an impressed smile, earning herself a smile back.

"We're doing this, Damon," Elena declared. "And we're gonna do it my way."

Lucy rolled her eyes and started to think that she needed a break from her sister; she was annoying her severely. Realizing that her hands were still in Stefan's, she pulled them out of his grip and ignored the confused look he sent her.

"Now give me the device," Elena requested of Damon. "We're wasting time."

Damon looked at Bonnie. "I don't trust you," he said. "I tried to kill you."

"You're right, you can't trust me," Bonnie glared at him.

"But you can trust me," Elena interjected, grabbing Damon's focus.

Elena and Damon stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds, causing both Stefan and Lucy to look between them, bewildered and annoyed. Finally, Damon dug his hand into his pants pocket and pulled out the Gilbert device, handing it to Elena.

"Thank you," Elena said sincerely.

She turned to Bonnie and handed her the device.

The bell tolled as Lucy and Elena stood in the court square, waiting for Isobel and her minions to show up. Joel, Stefan, and Damon were on stand-by if things went south but Lucy didn't think they'd need them. Isobel wanted the device and, as far as she knew, she was getting it.

Bonnie had reserved the spell on the device for them, as asked. There was the whole lights-flickering thing and the fire roared but Bonnie confirmed that the spell was reversed and the device wouldn't do any damage whatsoever.

Lucy trusted her; the device wouldn't be a problem.

"Oh, come on," Lucy hissed, shivering in her jacket. "Where is she?"

A whoosh of air behind her and Elena answered her question. They turned around to face Isobel and Lucy's eyes narrowed when Jeremy wasn't there.

"Where's the device?" Isobel asked.

"Where's our brother?" Lucy said in return.

"This isn't a negotiation," Isobel reminded them. "Where is the invention?"

"Where is our brother?" Lucy repeated, voice hardening.

"Do you really think that I came alone?" Isobel nodded behind them. Lucy and Elena turned around; Isobel's minions appeared, arms crossed over their chests threateningly.

"Do you think that we came alone?" Elena retorted, looking behind Isobel. Isobel glanced behind her, nodding at Joel, Stefan, and Damon as they made themselves known.

Isobel sighed. "For fuck sake, call home."

"What?"

"Call home and ask to speak to your brother," Isobel said.

Lucy pursed her lips and pulled out her cell phone, clicking on Jeremy's contact. The line rang for a second before Jeremy answered.

"Hello?"

"Jeremy, are you okay?" Lucy asked quickly, feeling her relief seep into her bones.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Jeremy assured her. "Uncle John hit his head. It was an accident."

"We're all laughing," Lucy heard Jenna call in the background.

"But yeah, I'm okay," Jeremy continued.

Lucy sighed, relieved. What would she do if Jeremy was hurt? "Okay. We'll be home soon, all right?"

"Yeah."

Lucy hung up the call and shoved her phone back into her pocket, nodding at Elena and silently telling her that Jeremy was safe at home.

Elena looked at Isobel. "You were never going to hurt him."

"No," Isobel disagreed. "I was going to kill him."

Lucy narrowed her eyes at her, wishing more than ever that she had her own magic.

"Don't look for any redeeming qualities in me," Isobel added. "I don't have any."

"But you took a risk with Damon," Elena snarked. "How did you know that he was gonna give it to me?"

Isobel smirked. "Because he's in love with you."

Lucy pressed her lips together. Now she understood all the looks Damon had been giving her sister. Why then, she wondered, was Elena giving him those looks back?

To break the awkward silence, Lucy pulled the device out of her jacket and held it out to Isobel. Isobel grabbed it and quickly put it in her own pocket, looking satisfied.

"Thank you," Elena spoke up harshly before Isobel could leave.

Isobel looked at her, confused. "For what?"

"For being such a monumental disappointment," Elena spat. "It keeps the memory of our real mother perfectly intact."

Lucy nodded in agreement; she would be glad to see Isobel leave. Even if they weren't related by blood, Miranda Gilbert would always be her real mom.

"Goodbye, Lucy," Isobel said, looking at her youngest daughter. "I hope that you're ready for what's coming for you. Keep an eye on your brother for me."

Lucy pursed her lips and didn't bother to respond. Isobel's vague statements were too confusing to try to sort out. And it infuriated her that Isobel spoke about Joel like that. He wasn't a puppet and he didn't need her to look out for him; he was one of the strongest people she knew.

"Goodbye, Elena," Isobel looked to Elena now. "As long as you have a Salvatore on each arm, you're doomed. Katherine was smart; she got out…but we all know that you're not Katherine."

Having said all that she needed to say, Isobel walked away with her minions.

Lucy wasn't upset to say that she was relieved to see Isobel go. She hoped she'd never have to see her again.