[3x07; Ghost World]

"Don't be nervous," Mrs. Lockwood advised as she straightened Lucy's blazer. "Keep your speech short but personal and make sure you thank the volunteers before introducing Tobias."

Lucy nodded, trying to remember everything that Mrs. Lockwood told her while also trying not to freak out. This wasn't just a historical society luncheon; this was almost the whole town watching her speech. She didn't understand why Mrs. Lockwood chose her to do the opening remarks when there were plenty older and wiser women on the planning committee.

Still, it was an honor to be chosen and although she was nervous, she knew she couldn't screw this up.

Mrs. Lockwood checked her teeth and straightened out her blouse once again before Lucy was allowed on stage. Once she was there behind the podium and had a crowd watching her, it didn't seem so bad. Maybe the hardest part for her was actually getting on the stage.

"Hi," Lucy smiled at the crowd as she spoke into the microphone. "I'm Lucy Gilbert and on behalf of the Mystic Falls Historical Society and the Mystic Falls Planning Committee, I'd like to thank you for coming. "Tonight, thanks to our volunteers, we will be turning off our town's lights and light up lanterns in honor of the Night of Illumination started by our founders one hundred and fifty years ago. Here is founding family member Mr. Tobias Fell to give you a history lesson about the beginning of this tradition."

The crowd clapped politely as Tobias Fell, a history teacher at Mystic High, joined the stage. As she left the stage and let Mrs. Lockwood take over, she made her way to the back of the crowd, where Jeremy, Joel, and Alaric had shown up for her speech.

Joel tugged her into a hug as soon as she got close enough. "Great job, Luce!" he exclaimed. "I think you'll be mayor next."

Lucy raised an eyebrow at him as Jeremy gave her a one-armed hug and congratulated her. "You think?"

"I think she's too nice to be a politician," Alaric grinned as he gave her a hug once Jeremy gave her up. "You did great, Lucy."

Lucy smiled at her brothers and biological father. "Thanks, guys."

"Okay, we saw Lucy's speech, so what are we still doing here?" Jeremy complained as Mr. Fell started to give his history lesson.

"Tobias Fell is the head of the history department," Alaric sighed; he had explained this to the youngest Gilbert before they left for the day. "I didn't have a choice.

"All right, that explains what you're doing here," Jeremy crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well, I'm the one who can fail you if you don't help me out," Alaric retorted, raising his eyebrows at Jeremy.

Lucy snickered but her amusement gave way when she saw Elena approach them. She was supposed to be here with Joel, Jeremy, and Alaric for her speech but she wasn't. It disappointed Lucy because it seemed like she was always there for Elena but her sister didn't give her the same respect back.

"Hey, sorry, I'm late," Elena apologized. "What did I miss?"

"Just my whole speech," Lucy pursed her lips, her tone letting Elena know that she was irritated.

"Shit, I'm sorry, Lou," Elena grimaced. "I forgot about it."

Lucy scoffed; that didn't make her feel any better. Her speech might have been short but this was big for Lucy and it was an opportunity for her to show Mrs. Lockwood that she was responsible enough to take on more responsibilities. Elena's forgetfulness made her feel like she was slapped in the face.

"Forget it," she shook her head and looked toward her brothers and Alaric. "I'll get us a table at the Grill."

After leaving her family, she crossed the street and entered the Grill, getting a table for five outside. She ordered some chili-chees fries and drinks for the table—Coke for Joel and Elena, sweet tea for herself and Jeremy, and Dr. Pepper for Alaric—before she was left alone.

Luckily, her phone buzzed with a message before she got too bored waiting for her family.

Bekah: I'm in Charlottesville for the day. Do you have a homecoming dress?

Luci: Not yet. Why?

Bekah: I'm getting some for you to choose from. See you tomorrow!

Lucy smiled and went to message her back but the chairs surrounding her pulled out as her family sat down to eat lunch. Their waiter appeared with their drinks and they all ordered before Elena pulled out a couple of journals that Lucy knew were Stefan's.

"Hey, Jere, I need you to help me with something," she said, opening one up.

"What's up?"

"I've been going through Stefan's old journals," she informed him. "Every single time that he's gone off the rails in the past, his best friend Lexi has been the one to bring him back."

Lucy bit her lip sadly at the thought of Lexi. The blonde had put so much positivity, fun, and love into Stefan's life only for her to be torn away in a single moment. She knew how much Stefan loved Lexi and it was obvious that Lexi held just as much for him.

"So, where is she now that we need her?" Alaric asked, taking a sip of his soda.

"She's dead," Lucy stated flatly, slipping a fry off the large plate in the middle of the table that Joel was demolishing.

Jeremy nodded in realization and looked at Elena. "And you want me to try to reach her, don't you?"

"I thought if I knew how she did it, maybe I could help him," Elena confessed quietly.

"I don't even know if she's on the other side."

Joel raised his eyebrows and took a long sip of his cola before asking, "Is that what it's called?"

"That's what Anna calls it. There's not like an official brochure or anything."

"So, what is it," Alaric frowned thoughtfully. "some sort of supernatural purgatory?"

"Well, Anna said it's like being here with all of us, only we can't see her or hear her," Jeremy explained. "and can't interact with anyone. She's all alone."

"Vicki could interact. She blew up my car," Alaric stated matter-of-factly.

"Vicki had help from a witch on the other side. Anna…" Jeremy shook his head slightly. "She's doing this all by herself."

"The last time someone summoned a spirit, we got our asses burnt, literally," Joel stressed. "Maybe we should learn from that?"

"If Jeremy were to contact Lexi, I doubt that she'd try to hurt us," Lucy mused and looked over at Jeremy. "Do you think that it's even possible to talk to her?"

Jeremy didn't answer as their waiter came with their food. They all shared their gratitude and started eating and started eating as the guy walked away.

"I don't know," Jeremy finally said, passing Alaric his cheeseburger and fries. "I didn't have an emotional connection with her. I never even met her."

Alaric sighed. "Can we just drop it please?"

"No, I can't drop it, Ric," Elena snapped. "I don't know what else to do."

"Honestly, I think you should just let Stefan be," Joel said honestly, shrugging when Elena gave him a dirty look. "Don't give me that look, okay? Once you have your humanity switch flipped, it's kinda hard to turn it back on."

Lucy agreed with Joel but she wasn't going to say that she did in front of Elena. She didn't think that Elena truly understood what exactly was going on with Stefan. Even if he did turn his humanity back on—without Lucy siphoning Klaus' compulsion on him—he'd be like Klaus' slave. And, since he had to act like he was compelled anyway, he was kind of stuck. Maybe with his humanity off, Stefan was trying to deal.

Like she told Stefan before, Lucy knew that his problems wouldn't just go away but it wasn't her choice and it wasn't Elena's either. Stefan had suffered too many times with people controlling him. He could make his own choices whether or not Lucy or Elena or anyone agreed with him.

"I can't believe you said that," Elena shook her head in disapproval. "Stefan's not himself and we need to do something."

"Yeah but it's not your choice is it?" Lucy raised an eyebrow at her sister. "It's Stefan's choice whether or not he wants his humanity back. You can try to convince him but can't force him to."

"So then I try to convince him." Elena didn't look happy with Lucy's opinion.

"Do what you want, as usual…"

Elena furrowed her eyebrows at Lucy and gave her an annoyed look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Lucy stiffened in her seat. "It means that all you care about is yourself," she spat as she grabbed her purse and draped it across her body. "As long as Elena gets what she wants, nothing matters."

Elena scoffed but Lucy didn't stick around to hear her sister's bogus excuses. She stomped away from the table, hearing Joel's quiet, "Maybe you should have shown up for her speech."

"I saw your speech," Stefan's voice made Lucy jump at her place at the table of lanterns and spin around to face him. "It was okay. You could have gone on for a few more seconds."

Lucy gave him a surprised look and grabbed a box of lanterns off the table. "You really saw it?"

"Yep. I also saw you storm away from Elena at the Grill," Stefan stated bluntly. "Were you fighting about me?"

"Are you stalking me?" Lucy retorted as she started walking to the tree she was assigned to; Stefan tagged along.

"I was compelled to protect you and I have to keep up the ruse, don't I?" Stefan raised an eyebrow; Lucy reluctantly nodded. "So, were you fighting about me?"

"You were part of it but it was mostly the fact that Elena missed my entire speech," Lucy sighed; she set the box on the ground and pulled out a pretty blue lantern and its string. "It's Elena's world, you know. We're just living in it."

Stefan hummed and grabbed a lantern, easily stringing it up.

"Sorry," Lucy sighed. "I know you love Elena and you don't like when I talk shit about her."

"I don't care."

Of course, he didn't; Lucy rolled her eyes. "Speaking of your humanity, I'm pretty sure Elena's going to try something. I told you I wasn't going to try to force your humanity on and I'll stay out of it. I just wanted to let you know."

Stefan nodded. "You know, you said you loved me before I left," he needlessly reminded her. "How come you're not fighting for me?"

Lucy pursed her lips, feeling a combination of emotions. There was annoyance because he kept bringing up her confession. She confused because he didn't know why he cared. And she was hurt and mad because he felt the need to ask that.

"You think that I don't fight for you?" she turned to him, dropping her lantern and putting her hands on her hips. "You think that I don't love you because I don't want to force your humanity back on?"

Stefan stared at her pensively.

"I fight for you, Stefan," Lucy declared. "I fought for you when I found out you were a vampire and Elena was freaking out about it. I fought for you both times you were stuck in that damn tomb. I fought for you when you almost drank Amber Bradley dry at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. I fought for you when I wrote you those letters and I fought for you when I siphoned away Klaus' compulsion."

"If you think that I don't fight for you, that's your problem, Stefan. I'm not forcing you to turn your humanity back—against my better judgment, by the way—on because I respect your right to choose. I know how much you hated being under Katherine's compulsion and I never want you to feel that way again. As long as you're in my life, I will fight for you. Even then, I will continue fighting."

"Okay," Stefan's voice was low and his forest-green eyes were glued to her face. "I get it."

"Do you?" Lucy raised an eyebrow, her eyes watering. "Because if you genuinely don't see how much I care about you, then I don't know exactly what I'm supposed to do to show you…" she laughed bitterly. "Maybe be a Petrova doppelganger, I guess."

Stefan continued to stare at her, speechless.

"I think you should probably go," Lucy suggested, wiping her eyes as she turned away from him. "I'm always on your side, Broody, and I'm always gonna be here for you, but I want to be alone right now."

It was silent for a few seconds before Stefan whispered a goodbye and left.

When Lucy first saw him in front of her, she couldn't believe it. He had been dead for over a thousand years, yet he was right there, dressed in modern clothing with a haircut similar to Jeremy's, in front of her house.

"Henrik?" she asked in disbelief as he broke out into a toothy smile.

"Luciana, it's nice to see you again."

Lucy let out a joyful, yet shocked, scoff and threw herself at her twin brother, pressing her cheek against his shoulder. Henrik rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head.

"How are you here?" she asked as they ended their hug. "What's going on?"

"The veil's been pulled back for a little while," Henrik explained. "Until your witch friend puts it back in place, I'm here."

"Well, come in," Lucy gestured to her house. "We can sit and talk."

Henrik nodded and allowed his sister to lead him into her house. Lucy offered him a drink and because he was curious about soda, she got him a can of Joel's Coke. When they settled in the living room, Lucy couldn't help but explode with curiosity.

"So, you've been on the Other Side for a thousand years?" she asked; Henrik nodded. "What's that like?"

"Lonely," Henrik answered honestly. "You can find peace, whatever that means, but I haven't."

"Why not?"

"I have six siblings to look after," Henrik smiled slightly. "Once you guys stop messing up your lives, maybe I can move on."

Lucy laughed. "I'll try my best," she promised. "You really watch over us?"

Henrik nodded. "Of course. Right now, Finn, Kol, and Elijah are in coffins in a truck somewhere. Klaus is in Montana, Rebekah's in Charlottesville, and you're here," he shrugged and took a sip of his cola. "There's really nothing to do on the Other Side so I watch you guys. You're my entertainment."

"A soap opera, no doubt," Lucy rolled her eyes. "I always thought my dramatic tendencies came from my dad but I was wrong. I'm pretty sure the Mikaelson family invented drama."

"Probably," Henrik's grin softened. "How are you doing with all your memories? Are they still overwhelming you?"

"Pretty much. It's a mess in my head right now," she confessed. "It's kinda hard when your original family wants to kill your current family and vice versa. I mean, Niklaus killed my aunt and uses my sister as a blood bag but I can't hate him because he's Niklaus—he's my brother who protected me and taught me how to paint. How am I supposed to deal with that?"

"I wish I had an answer but I don't," Henrik grabbed her hand comfortingly. "Even when you were Lucia, you struggled with the feelings that came with your memories."

"And now I have an extra life under my belt," Lucy muttered bitterly. "So it won't get better?"

"You were only fifteen when you died as Lucia so I'm not sure," Henrik said sadly. "Maybe you just need time."

Lucy frowned. "If only time helped me."

Across town, in the old Forbes jail cell, Lexi glared down at Stefan, a stake held firmly in her hand. She wished that he would just give in and turn his humanity back on. She wished that Lucy would just help them get Stefan back and deal with the consequences later.

Lexi truly thought that Lucy was one of the people who would be able to get Stefan back. She had seen it only a few hours earlier when Stefan was shocked into silence at Lucy's rant about fighting for him. She had seen it in the way that even without his humanity, Stefan couldn't stand to be too far away from Lucy and he couldn't bear to see her hurt.

Lucy wasn't one to run away or give up, especially on Stefan, so Lexi was a little frustrated that the siphon wasn't here to coax Stefan back to himself.

"This would be much easier if Lucy were here," she spoke firmly, almost glad that Elena had run out an hour ago.

"You think Lucy would be able to convince me flip my switch back?" Stefan scoffed, licking his dry lips.

"Yeah, I do," Lexi confirmed. "Because you love her too."

Stefan raised his eyebrows and laughed weakly. "That's funny."

"Is it?" Lexi hummed. "Because I saw your little conversation earlier and I saw how much you were affected. You felt it when Lucy said those things, didn't you? You felt your humanity."

"Obviously not."

"Oh, sweetness," Lexi cooed, bending toward her best friend. "You think you can hide from me? Me? I've known you for a long time, Stefan. I know you better than you know yourself."

"And you know that I love Lucy?" Stefan cocked his head and gave her a skeptical look.

"Yeah, you do," Lexi nodded. "So, let that love in, Stefan. If it's Elena you want to love, that's fine, too. Just let something in. Anything."

Stefan rolled his eyes. "Can you just stake me again? That was less torture than this."

"Is Mother on the Other Side?"

Henrik nodded. "I'm sure she is. We don't have contact with anyone, so I wouldn't know."

Lucy frowned, hating to know that her twin was so lonely on the Other Side. She couldn't imagine watching her loved ones live on while you had to watch, not being able to interact with them. It had to be so difficult.

"Henrik," she started hesitantly. "I hope you know that you don't have to watch over us. It's okay to find peace. I promise we'll be okay."

"I don't know," Henrik shrugged. "How do I know that peace will be any better than the Other Side?"

"You don't," Lucy squeezed his hand. "but it's called peace for a reason."

"I guess you're right," Henrik admitted thoughtfully. "You know, maybe I waited all this time for a reason."

"What would that be?"

"So that I could say goodbye to you," Henrik smiled warmly. "Promise me something, Luciana."

Lucy nodded.

"You fight for yourself, okay? You're strong and I know you fight for everyone, but I need you to fight for yourself, too.

Lucy's eyes stung as she looked into her brother's eyes—the eyes that matched hers. "I promise—"

Henrik disappeared before she could finish her promise. She stared at the place where he had been sitting and became determined to do what Henrik had asked.

"I promise, Henrik," she whispered. "I'll keep fighting."