[4x04; The Five]

Stefan peered into one of the many boxes that were stacked around the living room. Each one of them was full of weapons, equipment, and—strangely—chemistry supplies. Most of the weapons were marked with the etching that were on the wooden bullets Tyler was shot with; the mark of the hunter.

"So, what is all this?" Stefan asked, picking up a meticulously carved stake as Damon came into the living room with yet another box.

"Some personal items that I snaked from the vampire hunter's RV—may he rest in peace," Damon set the box down and started rummaging through it. "I'm searching for a supernatural handbook."

Stefan raised his eyebrows at his brother. "You know for a fact that he was supernatural?"

Damon pulled a Bunsen burner from the box. "He definitely wasn't natural," he shrugged. "The guy magically appears just as someone blows up the entire founder's council, covered in a tattoo that only Jeremy Gilbert, of all the people in the world, seems to be able to see," he pulled out a small black bag, zipping it open. "Klaus mentioned something about him being one of the five and then he kamikazes himself with explosive. Does that seem natural to you?"

Stefan perked up when Damon mentioned Klaus; he had yet to hear from the hybrid after Lucy informed him that Klaus wanted to speak to him. "What's the five?"

"That's what I'm hoping is in the first chapter of the handbook," Damon paused as his phone started to ring; he answered it. "Liz Forbes, my favorite sheriff…What? …That's concerning. Keep me posted."

Damon simply hung up the phone and slipped it back into his pocket, not speaking a word about the call to Stefan. Stefan eyed his brother curiously, a little annoyed that he didn't feel like sharing.

"What, you're not going to tell me?"

"I can't tell you, it's private," Damon said simply. "And we're in a fight?"

"We're fighting?" this was news to Stefan. He didn't have a problem with Damon—at that moment, anyway—and he didn't think he did anything to his older brother to make him mad…but then, again, wasn't Damon always mad at him?

"Well, you've hardly spoken to me," Damon continued unpacking his box. "I had to find out from Caroline—who found out from Twitch—that you were poisoned with werewolf venom."

"Since when are we joined at the hip, Damon?" Stefan scoffed but softened when he realized that his big brother was worried about him. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I've been trying to help Lucy with her anger."

"Yeah, Elena told me they had a big fight," Damon said absentmindedly; Stefan wasn't surprised that Elena complained to Damon but he was surprised that Damon didn't have any unnecessary retaliation for Lucy—but he was grateful, nonetheless. "Anyway, Liz told me they didn't find any remains at the explosion site."

Stefan hummed. "So, Connor's still out there."

If Klaus was with Damon and the hunter when everything went down, the hunter was probably with him. Damon did say that the Original said something about Connor being one of the five, whatever that meant.

Damon nodded. "Apparently so," he confirmed. "I'm going to need you to get on this today. I have to take Elena to Whitmore and Joel's helping Twitch move into Ric's loft."

Stefan already knew about Lucy moving into Alaric's loft; that wasn't news to him. "Wait, why are you taking Elena to Whitmore?"

"I'm teaching her to feed," Damon informed him. "She needs to learn snatch-eat-erase now more than ever. Bonnie was invited to some creepy professor's lecture, so we're crashing her visit."

"They have classes on Saturdays now?" Stefan furrowed his eyebrows.

Damon shrugged. "Apparently."

"Hey, where are you?" Lucy asked worriedly as she answered Stefan's call. "Caroline's already here. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine but I have bad news," Stefan told her; she hummed as she packed a couple of her books into one of the cardboard boxes Joel had bought to pack her things in. "Connor's still alive."

Lucy paused, her eyes flitting over to where Joel was carefully packing some of her blank canvases into another box. He looked back at her, equally shocked from Stefan's news. "He is? Joel said that Damon saw him die in the explosion."

"Liz called. She said they found no remains," Stefan sighed. "but I'm out looking for him, so I don't think I'll be able to help until tonight. I'm sorry, Goofy."

"No, no, it's fine," Lucy hurried to assure him; there were more important things going on than her moving into the loft. "Just be careful, okay? I love you."

"I love you, too, pretty girl," she could hear his smile. "See you later."

"Bye."

Lucy ended the call and turned to Joel, knowing that he heard the whole conversation with his sensitive hearing. "This is bad."

"Yeah," Joel agreed but mustered up a supportive smile. "Don't worry about Stefan, though, okay? He's good. He's not gonna let a hunter get the jump on him."

"I know," Lucy nodded; she was still going to worry about Stefan, though. She would until he was safe in her arms.

"Okay!" Caroline took that moment to reenter Lucy's bedroom, her arms full with collapsed cardboard. "I got the other boxes—oh, what's wrong?"

"Connor survived the explosion and Stefan's out looking for him," Joel summarized as he took the boxes from her.

"Oh," Caroline nodded in understanding before turning to Lucy. "Well, he'll be fine."

"I already told her that."

Caroline fondly rolled her eyes at Joel. "Well, did you tell her that Stefan is the strongest other than Damon and he'll kick Connor's ass?"

Joel shrugged. "In other words."

Caroline looked back to Lucy, who was grinning at the two of them. "Well, then, I have nothing."

"Thanks, Care," Lucy laughed.

She was glad she had her best friend and one of her brothers with her while she packed up a lifetime of memories. She was officially moving into Alaric's loft—which he left to her in his will—because she thought it would help her with her grieving process. She wouldn't be around Elena—who had only apologized for her harsh words the other day, not anything else—so she wouldn't be angry and resentful all the time and she'd get to process Alaric's death, too. She was going to miss living in the house but this move just felt right. Her brothers were understanding, especially after she and Joel had a long talk.

Lucy and Joel aired out all their problems with each other. Mostly it was Lucy who talked; she told him how hurt she was about him helping kill Finn and conspiring to kill the rest of her original siblings. She explained to him—really explained, almost every detail—how she had all her memories of her life as Luciana and Lucia and how they were all one in the same. Because Joel hadn't heard everything before, he never really understood but now he did. He apologized profusely for everything he did. He had actually shocked Lucy because he started to cry in remorse and she had only seen Joel cry three times in his life; their parents' deaths, Jenna's death, and Alaric's death.

Joel's apology meant a lot to her and she told him that she accepted his apology and that it really helped her start to forgive him. She wasn't going to be hostile to him anymore—even though she mostly gave him the silent treatment—and they were fine now. Some of Lucy's anger had even left when everything was settled, relieving her. She hated being angry; she was Goofy for a reason.

"Oh," Caroline started to set up one of the collapsed boxes. "Did you tell Joel that my mom actually approved the move?"

"I figured she did, since we're packing up her stuff," Joel told her matter-of-factly.

"Okay," Caroline gave him an annoyed look. "but did she tell you that Mom co-signed everything?"

Joel turned to Lucy with raised eyebrows. "Really?"

Lucy nodded. "Since I'm a minor, I needed an adult on the deed. You and Elena are vampires, so I figured it'd be a good idea to have Liz's name on the deed."

"That's a good idea," Joel admitted, though he was disappointed that he couldn't do proper guardian things because he was technically dead.

Lucy nodded. "And Jeremy's on there, too, just in case," she added. "Hey, can you pass me those books down there?"

Joel picked up the books that she pointed at and dutifully passed them over. "Okay," he sighed, looking around the room. Her bookshelves were mostly packed except for her paints and a couple of picture frames; her paintings still needed to be put in her carrier bags, and her dresser and closet were both still full. "Tell again what you're bringing."

"All the furniture," Lucy reminded him; she didn't want to sleep in her dead father's bed and all her furniture were a matching set so she had to bring them, too. "and then everything that can be packed. It's all going."

"Are we bringing Ric's bed back here?"

"I was gonna donate the frame and stuff," Lucy shrugged. "Why, did you want it?"

"No, not really," Joel shook his head. "I was thinking about making an office for when I graduate."

"That's a great idea!" Caroline exclaimed. "Oh my God, can I decorate?"

Joel looked to Lucy for an answer because he was honestly stumped; did he trust Caroline enough to give her free reign over his office?

"She's good at it," Lucy told him; Caroline smiled at him hopefully and he couldn't resist her.

"Yeah, fine, Caroline," he gave in quickly. "You can decorate."

"Yes!" Caroline hissed enthusiastically. "Oh, I think a gray-blue would look great on the walls—"

"Hey!" Lucy exclaimed, waving her hand in front of the blonde's face. "Focus, Carebear."

Caroline nodded perkily. "Right. I'll start on the closet."

As it turned out, Connor was at Klaus' house. It was easy to sneak through the mansion undetected by Klaus' hybrids. For being such the "superior" species, they were sure stupid. Stefan knew Klaus was smart but it seemed his little lackeys weren't.

Connor was strung up on some medieval torture device in Klaus' living room. Stefan tried to compel him, to get any information about the five, but Connor was impervious to his compulsion. He wasn't wearing any vervain and when Stefan nicked the inside of his wrist with his fingernail, he didn't smell any in his blood, either.

Stefan stepped into the shadows when he heard Klaus' voice come from down the hall, ordering one of his hybrids to do something. When Klaus walked into the living room, he walked straight over to Connor, who glared at him silently.

Klaus clicked his tongue and turned to where Stefan was standing. "Looks like I'll have to beef up the hybrid security detail."

"I was going to take him," Stefan walked toward him so he was standing in front of Connor, too. "but I figured you went through so much trouble to truss him up in your red room of pain."

Klaus grinned. "It's from the inquisition. I thought it was a nice touch."

"What'd you get out of him?"

"Not enough," Klaus sighed. "He's mum about the council fire and he's not saying anything about the greater evil we're all supposed to be shivering over. What brings you snooping?"

"Well, I can't say it in front of him," Stefan crossed his arms over his chest. "As I'm sure you've figured out, our friend, here, can't be compelled."

Klaus looked over at Connor. "You're full of mysteries, aren't you?"

"I told you," Connor spat at him. "I don't know anything."

"Thankfully, I know plenty," he gestured toward the den and raised his eyebrows at Stefan. "Shall we?"

When Stefan walked into the den, Klaus shut the double doors behind them.

"So, what's with the home invasion?"

"Damon said you knew something about this guy," Stefan stated. "I should have figured you were up to something when Lucy told me you wanted to talk in exchange for healing me."

"You're welcome for that, by the way."

Stefan rolled his eyes. "Who is this guy?" he demanded. "What's the five?"

"So many questions…"

"It's a good thing I have nothing to do today," Stefan lied as he went to sit on one of the leather couches. "All I have to do is get answers out of you."

"Fine. You might actually be useful in persuading Rebekah to cooperate," Klaus sat on the couch opposite of Stefan and started to explain, "The Brotherhood of the Five was a group of highly skilled vampire hunters. We crossed paths with them in Italy during the twelfth century. My siblings and I had followed the Normans as they conquered the South, feeding and turning people as we went…but, with the bloodshed, came exposure."

Klaus went on to tell them that the hunters had a type of show they put on for the locals. Vampires would be staked to poles around the stage as the main hunter, Alexander, made a vampire burn up in the sunlight. To make things even more interesting, Rebekah and Alexander were fond of each other.

"So, these hunters have been around for nine-hundred years?" Stefan asked, shocked.

"Apparently," Klaus shrugged. "Well, our friend in the other room is the first I've seen since then. Kind of makes you wonder what they've been up to all these years."

"And Rebekah had a thing with one of them?"

"Oh, she didn't just have a thing," Klaus corrected him. "She fell in love with him. He told her all his secrets…which I will gladly share with you provided you do two things for me."

Stefan raised his eyebrows. "And what's that?"

"I want Elena to be present for this conversation," Klaus stated.

"Elena's at Whitmore College," Stefan informed him quickly; Klaus pressed his lips together, annoyed. "What's the other thing?"

"Get Rebekah over here. She's being stubborn and hateful and I need to make peace with her," Klaus ordered. "I want her to give me some very important information about the hunter which she won't do unless she believes we've made up."

Stefan leaned toward Klaus. "What's in it for me?"

"Just get her here and I'll tell you," Klaus stood from the couch; Stefan copied his movements. "Oh, and Stefan, trust me when I say this…that hunter in there holds the answer to all your hopes and dreams."

Before they could load Lucy's belonging up into the loft, they first had to deconstruct all of Alaric's bedroom furniture. He only had a dresser, bed, and two nightstands, so it didn't take long for Joel take them apart and group everything together so he could take it to the donation center later on that day.

Luckily for Lucy, Caroline and Joel had super vampire strength, which meant that she could start to unpack while they brought up her furniture. It took most of the day to get everything sorted and put together, not to mention their breaks and the call from Stefan Lucy had to answer so he could find Rebekah for some odd reason.

As dinner time rolled around, they ordered pizza and ate while continuing to set everything up. Caroline made Lucy's bed and unpacked her clothes while Lucy tackled her new painting area and Joel started placing books in the bookshelves taking up one whole wall of the loft.

Lucy kept some of Alaric's stuff. There were a couple of ties she wanted to give to Joel, Jeremy, and Stefan, some pictures of Alaric, his family, and her, some of the weapons the council didn't get to, and stuff that had to do with the Saltzman family history and whatever research Alaric did in his free time. The rest of his clothes and items that weren't sentimental went in the donation bins.

The alcohol went in a box to be delivered to Damon.

"So, where's Jeremy?" Caroline asked the Gilbert siblings as she finished with Lucy's bedding and went to start hanging up the clothes that were to be hung in the closet. "Did he go with Bonnie, Elena, and Damon?"

"No," Joel said, reaching up to place some of Lucy's movies onto a shelf where she could reach them. "He texted me earlier. He's hanging out with some friends."

"What friends?" Lucy turned away from where she was setting up her easel to frown at him. "Matt's got a shift at the Grill and the rest of us are busy."

"Maybe he's meeting up with some of his stoner friends," Joel shrugged. He finished up the movies and walked over to the kitchen, grabbing another slice of pizza. "Hey, what did Stefan want earlier?"

"He wanted to know if I could give him Rebekah's number," Lucy started to arrange her paints in the new storage rack she got. She also got a drying rack for her wet paintings that matched it; they were side-by-side in her painting area. "He needed to get some information from her about the hunter."

Joel hummed around a mouthful of pepperoni and cheese. Caroline, being the speedy perfectionist she was, finished with the clothes that went in the closet and started on the dresser.

"Hey, Luce," she called, lugging the box onto the bed to open it. "What did you want to do for your birthday?"

"The same thing as last year," Lucy shrugged. "My family, my friends, and coconut cake. Why? What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking of a Christmas themed party," Caroline grinned at her. "Ugly Christmas sweaters, spiked eggnog, holiday-themed Pictionary, cookie decoration, secret Santa…"

"Will I still get presents?" Lucy asked teasingly.

"Of course!"

It honestly sounded like a great idea to Lucy. It was fun and played off the fact that her birthday was only ten days before Christmas. That way, they could have a Christmas party with all their friends, too.

"That sounds great, Care."

The reminder of Christmas kind of surprised Lucy and made her realize that the holiday season was upon them. Thanksgiving was in a week and none of them were prepared to make a huge meal. She hadn't gone shopping or even come up with ideas for Christmas presents. To top it all off, the Miss Mystic Falls pageant was pushed up to December first. Everything was happening at once and it made a flash of panic go down her spine.

So many things to prepare for. So many things to do.

"Hey, Care?"

"Hmm?"

"Wanna go dress shopping tomorrow?"

"For the Miss Mystic pagent?" Caroline peeked at her excitedly; Lucy nodded. "Of course!"

Stefan walked into Klaus' house with Rebekah by his side. It wasn't hard to convince her to come back to the mansion with him once he decided to bribe her with a good word in with Matt. He also promised to give her a clean slate with him but he guessed the Matt offer was much more appealing to the blonde Original.

"Welcome home, sister," Klaus greeted her as they walked into the living room.

Rebekah gave her brother an unimpressed look when she saw Connor. "Is this a trick?" she asked flatly. "How do you know he's one of the Five? Where's his bloody tattoo?"

"Oh, the tattoos aren't visible on this lot like they were on the last," Klaus told her flippantly. "Let's eat."

However much Stefan didn't want to eat dinner with the two blonde Originals, he was coerced into joining them to find out what this whole spectacle was about. He didn't understand why Klaus liked to talk over dinner. Two of the serious talks they have had together have been over food and Stefan couldn't imagine why. Arguing ruined his appetite, not that he had a big one for human food, anyway.

"Thank you, my lovely," Klaus thanked the compelled waitress as she poured him another glass of wine. "I could kiss the council for burning up all the vervain in town. They made my life so much easier…" he turned to his sister and pointed at her plate. "Rebekah, love, eat your veggies."

Rebekah stubbornly refused to eat. "I'm not eating until you apologize."

"For what indiscretion?" Klaus shot a quick smirk to Stefan. "There have been so many."

"You broke my neck."

"You threw away Elena's blood so I can't make any more hybrids."

"Because you took me for granted!"

"That's what big brothers do, sweetheart!" Klaus slapped his palm down on the table, making the silverware rattle.

"Let me just name the million other people I'd rather be having dinner with right now," Stefan spoke up flatly, interrupting their feud. "Like my girlfriend, for one."

"All right, fine," Klaus leaned back in his seat and turned back to Rebekah. "I'm sorry. I often forget how delicate you are. Forgive me?"

Rebekah pursed her lips. "I'll take it under consideration."

"Okay, good," Stefan cleared his throat and sat up straighter. "Now, why don't you tell me about Rebekah's hunter?"

"Right," Klaus nodded, as if he forgot the meaning for their dinner together. "Alexander. Nice chap, foregoing the obvious issues. He was looking for creatures of the night which is why we felt quite safe around him wearing our daylight rings."

Klaus told Stefan that he, Rebekah, and Elijah sat down with Alexander for a meal and asked him about his crusade. Alexander explained to him that he and his four brothers were created to hunt and kill all the vampires on earth with a special weapon.

Stefan raised his eyebrows in surprise. "So, that's what this is about?" he asked in disbelief. "A weapon?"

Rebekah gave him an annoyed look. "Not just any weapon—"

"Rebekah, love, don't get ahead of the story," Klaus interrupted her.

"How is a weapon the answer to all of my hopes and dreams?" he quoted Klaus' earlier statement; when Klaus and Rebekah gave each other mysterious looks, he sighed in exasperation. "Why don't we just skip with the theatrics and get right to the point."

"Not quite yet," Klaus shook his head. "Because, in order to find this weapon, we need to solve the puzzle, which seems to have disappeared."

Stefan gave him a confused look. "What puzzle?" when Klaus gave him a pointed look, his face fell in realization. "The tattoo. What is it?"

"A map leading us to its treasure."

"Fat lot of good a tattoo's going to do us if we can't see it," Rebekah snapped at her brother.

"We can't but someone else can," Klaus countered before turning to the waitress. "Why don't you tell the hybrid to bring him in, love?"

The waitress left the room and he continued, "You see, the hunter was so eager to get to the bottom of his mystery tattoos that he mentioned there was only one other person who could see them…"

Stefan was on his feet before one of Klaus' hybrids even entered the room with Jeremy, easily figuring out what Klaus meant. The whole reason the hunter was interested in Jeremy was because he could see this so-called tattoo that no one else could.

He blurred over to Jeremy, who was struggling against the hybrid, but was stopped by Klaus.

"I wouldn't," Klaus warned him. "Lucky for us, young Jeremy, here, is a bit of an artist."

Stefan knew that well; Lucy raved about her little brother's talents all the time. It was pretty cute.

Jeremy grunted angrily. "I'm not helping you with anything."

Klaus nodded at the hybrid and within a second, the hybrid had pulled Jeremy's Gilbert ring off his finger and tossed it to Klaus. The Original smirked at the youngest Gilbert. "I'm afraid you are."

Stefan was reluctant to let Jeremy be pulled into the living room to draw the tattoo but he didn't have much of a choice. He couldn't overpower Klaus and strangely, Klaus told Stefan he wouldn't hurt Jeremy. He then followed up his assurance with a snide comment about not killing any more of Lucy's siblings—even though he technically killed Elena once.

Still, Stefan thought it was kind of admirable that Klaus promised such a thing—he would never, ever admit that to his face, though. He didn't want Klaus thinking they were friends all of a sudden.

"So," Stefan started when their dinner was cleared. "tell me more about this tattoo."

Klaus' lips twisted into a wry smile. "My sister's suitor was unwell to tell us anything. Rebekah, however, was more than willing to investigate…isn't that right?" he gave his sister a pointed look; she gulped harshly. "It was the Five who originally made the white-oak daggers. My sister's boyfriend threw a slumber party that night. He and his brothers put us all down in our sleep. Elijah, Kol, Finn…and me."

"How was I supposed to know?" Rebekah was quick to defend herself.

Klaus raised his wine glass sarcastically. "Cheers to my sister's uncanny ability to choose men."

Was that supposed to be a slight against him? Stefan was pretty sure it was.

"I thought the daggers didn't work on you because of your werewolf side," Stefan recalled.

Klaus grinned slyly. "They don't."

It turned out that Klaus brutally killed the hunter that attacked them, plus the other four, including Alexander. He had blamed Rebekah for everything that happened that night because she had let her guard down around Alexander. And it was all for the weapon that the tattoo-map led to.

"Go ahead, Rebekah, tell him," Klaus goaded her angrily. "Tell him what the hunter told you the tattoo leads to. What's this great weapon that could bring about the end of the vampire species?"

Rebekah's eyes were wet as she breathed in shakily. "A cure," she said finally. "He said there was a cure."

Stefan stiffened in shock. A cure. There was a cure for vampirism. Now he understood what Klaus meant about his hopes and dreams being answered.

He didn't know how Klaus knew but for awhile he had been wishing that he could be human again. It was just a fantasy that he thought about sometimes when he was trying to go to sleep because he never thought it would happen.

He ached to be human again. To go to college again and have the real student experience. To have a career where he didn't have to move every two years. To enjoy life because he knew that he was actually vulnerable to most things in the world. To not have to crave blood everyday and fight the ripper part of himself. And then, on the nights he spent with Lucy, he wanted more than that. He wanted to marry her. He wanted to buy a forever home with her. He wanted to see her belly swell with their babies. He wanted to grow old with her, to have grandchildren, to die with her.

He knew he couldn't have that because he was a vampire…but, if there was a cure…He didn't want to get his hopes up.

As Klaus went to go get himself a drink from the bar, Stefan frantically followed him. "There is no cure for vampirism."

"I'm telling the truth, Stefan," Rebekah insisted, leaving the table herself.

"Then why wouldn't you have searched for it?" Stefan demanded, looking between the siblings. "Why didn't you find it?"

"Because, when the hunters drew their final breath that night, the marks disappeared from their bodies," Klaus poured himself a drink. "The map was gone, the Brotherhood of the Five extinct. For nine-hundred years, there was not a whisper of another hunter until our friend in there showed up in town."

"Well, now we have the map," Rebekah spoke calmly as Stefan's mind raced. "What do we do next?"

"We don't do anything," Klaus corrected her, taking a sip of his whiskey. "You can't be trusted, little sister. You'll be blabbing this secret to the first boy who calls you pretty. I mean, it's pathetic, really, isn't it?" he turned to Stefan as if he was wanting his opinion. "How she continues to hand her heart to any man who shows her a hint of affection."

Why was Stefan in the middle of this family drama again? Oh, right, the cure.

"But I haven't!" Rebekah shouted at him, her eyes filling with tears. "Instead I stay with you and let you leech ever moment of happiness in my life. You know, at least I fared better than Finn," she told Stefan. "Klaus left him daggered because he was tired of his judgment."

"No, Finn was a dulled," Klaus disagreed, walking toward her. "He was more interesting lying in a box."

"You want the cure for Elena, don't you? So you can go back to mass producing your hybrids," Rebekah stated, her voice raising in volume as she reverted back to the subject of the cure. "That's why you wanted Stefan to bring Elena in—because you knew she wants to be human again and she would help you even though she hates your guts!"

Klaus narrowed his eyes at her.

"Yo know, what?" Rebekah continued. "You can shove your cure."

She turned away from her brother and stormed out of the room. Within seconds, the front door slammed shut. Klaus turned back to Stefan with an amused smile like Rebekah was simply performing a skit that he found funny.

Stefan didn't see the humor in the situation. "Well, I hope you got what you wanted out of her before you chased her off."

"She never would have told me what I needed to know," Klaus said. "but she'll tell you."

Stefan pressed his lips together. "What do you need me to find out?"

"The map is useless without the tool to decipher it."

Stefan thought back to what Klaus said about the night the Five tried to put the Originals down. He had said that Alexander told Rebekah that the sword was the key to cracking the code. "The sword."

Klaus nodded. "She knows where it is and you're going to get her to tell you," his voice grew serious. "Not only does Elena have a chance to become human again but you can have that life with Luciana you want. You can call it a deal with the devil if you like, but you know you won't walk away from it."

Stefan hated when Klaus was right.

Stefan poured some bourbon into his glass as he waited for Rebekah to show up at the Boarding House. He had sent her another message, pleading for her to talk to him about the cure, and she surprisingly told him that she'd be there soon.

It was only five minutes after he got her message that Rebekah walked into the house. "Hey," she greeted him as he poured her a glass as well. "I'm sorry. I know you wanted my help. He just…he makes me so angry."

Stefan gave her a sympathetic smile and handed her the glass. "No one deserves to be treated that way."

It was true. Siblings fought, yeah, but the way Klaus and Rebekah did it made his and Damon's relationship look like the best in the world. He didn't understand how Klaus could treat Lucy so delicately despite the fact that he talked to Rebekah like she was dirt beneath his shoe. Maybe it was because they spent a thousand years together…

Rebekah took a sip of her drink and sighed. "I wanted it back then, the cure," she confessed to him. "I was willing to leave behind my family for it. Would you take it if you have the chance?"

"Yeah, I would," he answered her honestly. "It would be nice not crave blood everyday and fight that ripper part of myself…and, I would take it for Lucy."

Rebekah smiled softly at him. "I envy the love between you and Lucy," she told him tearfully. "I really did believe Alex when he said he loved me. He promised me we'd be married. We even picked out a church. San Vittore in Brienno."

Stefan smiled; he had been before and it was a beautiful place.

"I know you want my help, Stefan, but I just can't do anything that lets my brother get what he wants."

"I know," Stefan nodded in understanding. "but think of more than Klaus. Think of yourself, of your sister. I want a human life with Lucy. I want us to have a family. I want us to grow old together, to die together, to be buried together."

Tears spilled down Rebekah's cheeks as she smiled sadly. "I buried him," she could relate to what Stefan was saying about a life with Lucy. That was what she had wanted with Alexander. "Even after everything. I laid him to rest in the place where we would be married. What kind of hopeless fool does that?"

Stefan pressed his lips together sadly. When he agreed to help Klaus dagger Rebekah, he didn't expect the honesty they shared together. He really felt for her; how she had lived her whole life under her brother's thumb, how Alexander betrayed her, how she was daggered repeatedly. Deep down, Rebekah was a good person. She deserved better than the life she got.

Rebekah scoffed in realization when she saw the look on his face and the sadness in his eyes. "Oh, but that's what you wanted to know, isn't it?" she laughed bitterly. "Because I buried him with is sword."

Stefan looked away from her, ashamed. It was then that Klaus stepped into the room. Rebekah slowly turned to face him, closing her eyes in bitter resignation.

"I'm sorry, sister," Klaus said solemnly as he pulled the white ash and a dagger from behind his back. "but you're right. You really are a hopeless fool."

Rebekah tried to speed out of the house as Klaus dipped the dagger into the ash but Stefan sped in front of her.

"I'm sorry, Rebekah," he apologized sincerely, his eyes stinging with regret and shame.

Rebekah inhaled sharply and whirled around to face Klaus, angry tears falling from her eyes. "Go right ahead," she shouted at him. "Laugh at the girl who loved too easily. But I would have rather lived my life than yours, Nik. No one will ever sit around the table telling stories about the man who couldn't love."

Klaus started to tear up as well, a long tear falling down his left cheek. He looked at the floor as he readied the dagger but Rebekah was having none of it.

"Do it," she demanded harshly. "Look me in the eyes and do it, you coward! Do it!"

Klaus lunged forward and grabbed Rebekah's shoulder, stabbing her in the heart with the dagger. He held onto her desiccating body as it slowly grew limp, his wet eyes shutting sadly. He picked up her body and walked into the living room, gently setting her down on the couch.

While Stefan covered her body with a blanket, Klaus made sure to finalize a couple of details with his hybrids.

"I have a plane waiting," he informed Stefan. "I'll get the sword. My hybrids will keep an eye on Connor. You put Rebekah somewhere no one will find her and make sure Jeremy forgets everything he heard today."

Stefan nodded stiffly. "I'll take care of it."

"You can only tell Elena what is happening with the cure," Klaus continued sternly. "No one else must know about it, do you understand? Not Damon, not Lucy. Nobody. If this gets out, it could mean all out deaths. So, if you tell anyone other than Elena, I'll erase each and every memory from all of you."

"I won't say anything," Stefan promised reluctantly. He didn't understand why he had to keep it from Lucy but Klaus did say that they could die if anything gets out.

"It's just you, me, and Elena in this, Stefan," Klaus stated. "Some secrets are stronger than family."

Stefan didn't agree but he'd go along with Klaus' orders for now. The cure was too important for him and all the vampires in his life. He didn't want Rebekah's temporary death to be in vain, either.

As soon as Klaus left for his plane, Stefan stashed Rebekah in the cellar for a temporary resting spot and sped out of the house. When he got to the town square, he slowed into a walk so he could be inconspicuous as he walked into Lucy's apartment building. Once he was in the clear, he blurred up the two levels of stairs to the loft and knocked on the door, hoping that Lucy would still be awake.

When she opened the door, Stefan couldn't help but smile. Lucy hadn't been awake; he could tell she had been asleep but her bleary eyes and the messy braid her hair was in. There was a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and she was wearing one of his shirts that he left at her old room at the Gilbert house.

She was so damn beautiful.

"Stefan," she smiled sleepily. "What are you doing here?"

"I said I'd stop by," he reminded her, smiling softly. "Can I come in, pretty girl?"

Lucy grinned at him. "Of course," Stefan was able to step through the threshold; he quickly swept her off her feet and held her in his arms, earning himself a cute but tired laugh. "What are you doing?"

"I can't let you sleep alone on your first night in the apartment," Stefan kissed her gently as he locked the door behind them with one hand and started walking to the bedroom area. Lucy returned his affection earnestly. "Left side?"

Lucy nodded and pressed her forehead against his jaw. "Left side."

Stefan laid her down on the bed in the left side before crawling into the right. Once he was settled—with his shoes off, like she always insisted—he pulled her into his embrace, wrapping an arm around her waist as she laid her head against his chest.

"Goodnight, Broody," Lucy whispered, kissing the spot right above his heart. "Love you."

"I love you, too."

He kissed the top of her head and settled in for the night, trying not to let the guilt about Rebekah swallow him. The thought of a cure flickered into his mind and, as he fell asleep, he dreamt about Lucy and the human life he had with her.