It was barely six o'clock in the morning when Emily woke up next to her sister. She couldn't sleep knowing what was actually out there in the small town. As soon as Elena was awake, the two girls were ready to get the answers that they deserved. If they were going to be involved in this, they should know everything there is to know about vampires. So Emily called Stefan, since Elena was still frightened by the younger Salvatore, and arranged a meeting at Mystic Grill.

As the two Gilbert sisters sat across from Stefan at a small table outside of the Grill, Elena quickly spoke, "you said you would explain everything."

Emily nodded her head as she looked at Stefan and stated, "that's why I called you. We want to know the truth."

Once Stefan nodded his head, Elena continued, "when you Google 'vampire' you get a world of fiction. What's the reality?"

"I can tell you whatever you want to know," Stefan stated.

Elena glanced over at her sister before she turned back Stefan and spoke, "I know you eat garlic."

"Yes," Stefan nodded.

"And somehow, sunlight's not an issue," Elena continued.

"Hi, here are your drinks," a waitress spoke as she placed down three coffee cups.

"Thank you," Emily smiled politely.

Once the waitress was out of hearing range, Stefan responded, "we have rings to protect us." Emily looked down at the large ring that was hanging on Stefan's finger. It makes sense, Damon has almost the same one.

"Crucifixes?" Elena asked.

"Decorative," Stefan answered.

"Holy water?" Elena continued.

Stefan shrugged," drinkable."

"Mirrors?" Elena questioned.

"Myth," Stefan answered.

"You said you don't kill to survive," Emily stated. She wanted to know the important answers that could cause harm to her family.

Stefan nodded his head, "animal blood keeps me alive, but not as strong as Damon. He can be very powerful."

Emily looked up at Stefan in disgust and anger, "and you let him be involved with Caroline?"

"Forcing Damon not to do something is much more dangerous, believe me," Stefan tried to explain.

"He was hurting her!" Emily yelled out in anger. What Damon was doing to her best friend, would never be okay in Emily's book.

"He was feeding on her," Stefan corrected the green eyed girl. "He was able to take away her memories of being bitten, using a form of mind compulsion. She never knew what was happening to her. If he wanted to kill her, he would have," he explained.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Emily growled.

Stefan shook his head quickly as he stared at the oldest Gilbert. "No. No, none of this is okay, Emily," he told the brunette.

"Are there any others, aside from you and Damon?" Elena questioned quietly as a silence fell over the trio.

Stefan shook his head, "not in Mystic Falls; not anymore."

"Not anymore?" Elena questioned in confusion.

Stefan nodded his head once as he thought for a moment before he explained, "there was a time when this town was… very much aware of vampires, and it didn't end well for anybody." Stefan glanced between the two sisters with seriousness shining through his green eyes, "that's why it's important that you don't tell anyone, either of you."

Elena glanced at her sister before she turned back to Stefan and stated, "I can't promise that."

"Elena," Stefan spoke softly as he reached across the table and placed her small hand into his two large ones, "give me today." He glanced over at the older sister as he continued, "I will answer any questions that you have, and when it's over, you can decide for yourself what you wanna do with what you know. It'll be your choice."

Emily glanced over at her sister, and saw Elena was staring hard at the table as she avoided looking into Stefan's green eyes. The only thing Emily wanted was the truth, and Stefan was the only way she could have that. So she looked up at the younger Salvatore with determination in her eyes, "we'll listen." He never gave off that Emily couldn't trust him, so she decided this was the only option to be able to protect her family.


An awkward silence well over the trio as they rode through Mystic Falls in Elena's car while Stefan directed from the passenger seat. Neither sister knew if they could still trust Stefan. What was there to say when you find out your friend is a vampire? Emily didn't know what to think as she sat in the backseat, all she knew was that she wanted to know everything. She needed to know if she would have to protect her family even more with the knowledge of vampires in the small town.

Stefan suddenly broke the silence as he called out, "stop here."

Once Elena pulled the car to a stop, Emily jumped out and began to look around. All she could see was woods and what looks to be the remains of an old building. Emily turned to Stefan as she questioned confusingly, "you aren't planning to kill us, are you?"

Even though the situation was serious, Stefan couldn't help but let a small chuckle as he shook his head. "I want to show you guys something," he explained.

"In the middle of nowhere?" Elena questioned as slowly moved closer towards her sister.

"This," Stefan spoke as he began to look around, "didn't use to be nowhere. Used to be my home."

"It looks so…" Elena trailed off, not knowing what to call it.

"Old?" Stefan questioned. "It's because they are," he responded.

Emily carefully began to walk around the woods as she saw bricks barely standing. She noticed an off white broken statue, so made her way towards it. Emily's brows furrowed as she noticed how old it looked. She turned to Stefan and questioned, "this has to be over 100 years old... so am I getting warmer on your real age?"

"You're close," Stefan nodded his head as he commented. "I've been 17 years old since 1864," he explained.

"Oh, my God," Elena mumbled in disbelief as she reached for her sister's hand and held on tightly. Emily squeezed her sister's hand back just as tightly. Even though she had guessed his real age, Emily didn't think she was going to right. So she was secretly freaking out at the realization that her friend was over 100 years old, but she had to stay calm for her sister.

"You said you wanted to know. I'm not gonna hold anything back," Stefan told the two girls. "Half a century before the boarding house was even built, this was my family's home," he began to explain, "Damon and I… we were both born here. The Salvatore brothers, best friends."


Damon rushed out the large white colored house as Stefan chased after him just as quick. The two brothers ran into the field, but before Damon could throw the ball at this younger brother, Stefan quickly asked, "wait. Where did you learn this game?"

"Camp outside Atlanta," Damon explained, "one of the officers picked it up at Harvard." He threw the ball into the air as he exclaimed, "catch."

Stefan caught the ball but quickly yelled out as Damon began to chase him, "wait a minute. Wait a minute. What are the rules?"

But Damon only ignored his brother and tried to grab the ball out of his hands. The two brothers continued to run around but was stopped by a sweet voice that spoke up, "who needs rules?" The two boys turned around and saw the beautiful Katherine Pierce. "Mind if I join you?" She questioned.

"Uh, well, you could, uh… you could get hurt," Stefan spoke out of breath. "My brother likes to play rough," he explained.

Katherine chuckled as she stared into Stefan's eyes with amusement, "somehow, I think that you play rougher."

While Stefan was distracted by Katherine's beautiful laugh, she quickly stole the brown ball right out of his hands. The young girl ran away from the two brothers with the ball in hand as Stefan stared at the brunette with love in his forest green eyes.

Damon interrupted his brother's thoughts as he questioned, "why are you just standing there?" He pointed towards the beautiful girl as he exclaimed, "that is a girl who clearly wants to be chased. If you don't do it, I will." As soon as the words were out of Damon's mouth, he quickly ran after Katherine with Stefan only a few steps behind.


"You knew Katherine in 1864?" Elena asked in shock. "Damon made it seem like..." She trailed off.

"Damon was trying to make you think that... I was still heartbroken," Stefan told Elena, "he saw that I was happy with you, and wanted to ruin it."

"All because you both loved the same women 145 years ago?" Emily questioned in confusion. How special could the girl had been if she made two brothers fight for her love?

"She wasn't just any girl," Stefan explained as a small smile danced on his lips.


Katherine was running around the large garden out in front of the Salvatore house as she laughed when Stefan tried to catch up to her. The brown eyed girl suddenly placed her hands on a white statue before she turned to Stefan with a proud smile, "ha! I win! What's my prize?"

Katherine slowly moved closer to Stefan but froze in her place when a voice spoke up, "what would you like it to be?" The duo quickly turned to their right, and was surprised to see a smiling Damon looking at them.

"They extended your leave?" Stefan questioned his brother with a bright smile.

"I was simply having too much fun to return to battle," Damon responded with a cheerful grin.

"Your commitment to the confederacy is inspiring," Stefan told his brother before he pulled him into a tight loving hug.

"Well, this works out wonderfully for me," Katherine commented as she stared at the brothers with a dazzling smile.

"How's that, Miss Katherine?" Damon questioned the beautiful girl.

Katherine shrugged her shoulders lightly as she responded, "now I'll have both of you to keep me entertained." She pointed out, "first and foremost, I'll need someone to escort me to the founder's ball."

"With pleasure," Damon bowed while Stefan answered at the same time, "I would be honored."

Katherine had her back to the boys as a bright smile graced her lips. She turned back around as she spoke, "the smart and kind Salvatore brothers both coming to my rescue. How will I ever choose?" Before either boys could say anything, the young girl made her way through the garden as the two brothers watched her every move.


"She chose me," Stefan explained, "I escorted her to the ball at the original Lockwood mansion."

"The first founder's party," Elena recalled, "where you sighed the registry."

Stefan nodded his head as he continued, "I didn't care that I had gotten something that my brother wanted. I didn't even care if it hurt him. I only knew that I wanted her."

"So he was upset," Elena guessed.

"That's the thing about Damon," Stefan began, "he doesn't get mad. He gets even." He took a long pause before he continued to explain, "what Damon wants, Damon usually get." Stefan shook his head as he recalled, "I didn't know at the time, but... turns out that night... Katherine was with him, too."

Emily shook her head, "wait, wait." She looked up at Stefan in confusion, "so did he steal her from you or did you steal her from him?"

Stefan shook his head as he explained, "turns out, she wasn't ours to steal."


Stefan was carefully laid over Katherine's body on his warm bed as he kissed the young girl with passion. But Katherine suddenly rolled over Stefan's body and sat up in his lap. Stefan sat up as well and wrapped his hands around her small waist before pulling her into another heated kiss. Katherine pulled away from the boy's lips, causing Stefan to move his lips down her neck. He pulled away and grabbed Katherine's face lightly and looked into her memorizing brown eyes as he spoke softly, "I will love you forever."

"Forever is a very long time, you know," Katherine whispered as she closed her eyes in pleasure.

"Not long enough," Stefan mumbled with his lips pressed lightly against the brunette's skin.
As Stefan continued to kiss down Katherine's neck, she suddenly couldn't control it anymore and her face slowly changed as her fangs sprouted from her gums. Stefan glanced up at the beautiful brunette, and was in shock when he saw a monster take over her tan face. But before he could say anything, Katherine quickly turned Stefan's head to the side and took a significant bite out of his neck.

Only a few hours later, Katherine was standing in front of a large mirror while her handmaiden, Emily Bennett, was helping her get ready for the day by pulling and tugging on her dress from the back. Katherine glanced behind her through the mirror and saw Stefan to begin to stir from his slumber. "Good morning," she called out sweetly as Stefan sat up in his bed. "Clear the room, please," Katherine told her handmaiden when she saw Stefan looking at the blood that was still visible from his neck wound.

"You're upset," Katherine stated as she turned to Stefan.

"Your face," Stefan spoke breathlessly, "it was like a demon."

Katherine slowly moved towards Stefan's side of the bed as she stated, "but you're not afraid."

"Get away from me," Stefan commanded as he tried to move as far as he could while he was still in his bed. "Get away," he repeated.

Katherine looked at Stefan directly into his eyes and spoke carefully, "it doesn't change the way you feel about me. You will not tell anyone."

"I-" Stefan began but Katherine placed her slim finger against Stefan's pink lips and continued, "shh. We will go on exactly as we have."

"Yes," Stefan spoke and repeated after Katherine, "we will go on."

Katherine chuckled with a smile gracing her face as she told the young boy, "you have no idea of the future I have planned for us, Stefan. You, me, and Damon. No rules."


"She could control my mind; and Damon's," Stefan explained, "she compelled each of us to keep the secret from the other. She wanted us to be together. Forever." Stefan leaned down and picked up a small cloth as he continued talking, "didn't work out that way, but… Damon and I, looks like we're stuck with each other… like it or not."

Emily watched carefully as Stefan slowly began to open the small cloth and pull out a shiny object. She twitched her head to the side as she questioned, "is that Damon's ring?"

Stefan nodded his head and stated, "I took it from him, but I have to give it back."

Elena quickly shook her head as she spoke, "no, don't, Stefan. Keep it hidden."

"That's not a good idea, Lena," Emily told her sister. She felt unsettling about the idea of not giving Damon what he wants from what Stefan had told them. It would be too dangerous.

Stefan nodded his head in agreement with the older sister. "If I don't get it to him, he'll retaliate in the only way that he knows he can hurt me."

"And how is that?" Elena asked.

Stefan glanced between the two Gilbert sisters before he stated softly, "by hurting the both of you."

At Stefan's confession, the sisters grew silent in the woods that used to be the Salvatore Estate, so the trio slowly began to make their way back to Elena's car. But as the younger sister opened the driver side door, she quickly turned to Stefan and questioned, "the mind control... you said Katherine used. Did you ever use that on me?"

Stefan shook his head as he responded, "no." He pointed towards Elena's necklace and the one that was hanging around Emily's neck as he explained, "the necklaces, they contain an herb called vervain. It protects you from being compelled." Stefan glanced between the two sisters as he stated, "I wanted to protect you both from Damon's influence," before he moved his eyes over to only Elena's as he continued, "but I also wanted to protect you from me."

Stefan stared into the two different colored eyes as he pleaded, "Elena, Emily. You should never take those necklaces off... because no matter what happens after today, no matter what either of you feel about me... you'll know that you were making your own choice."

Emily looked at Stefan one last time before she made her way into the backseat of her sister's car. She wanted to believe what Stefan had told her and Elena, that he wouldn't hurt them. He did give them each a necklace that would protect them from a vampire's mind games, so he must of cared a lot for them. After today, Emily could see herself trusting Stefan again in the long run, knowing that he has always been trying to protect her and Elena.


As soon as Emily opened the front door of the Gilbert house, she heard a couple of loud noises coming from the living room. She looked back at Stefan and Elena in confusion, before quickly walked into the room. "What's going on?" She questioned as she noticed the tension between Jeremy, Matt, and Vicki.

"She's really messed up," Matt told Gilbert girl as he looked at his sister in worry.

"Emily, back up," Stefan commanded the brunette, since she was the closest to Vicki. He moved so he was standing directly in front of the Donovan girl and grabbed her face softly. "Vicki, look at me. Focus," Stefan ordered. "You're gonna to be fine. Everything is going to be fine," he whispered. "Guys, take her to bed. Shut the blinds. She's gonna be okay," Stefan told Matt and Jeremy.

Once the two boys took Vicki out of the room, Emily turned to Stefan and noticed that he knew what was happening by the look on his face. "What's wrong with her?" Emily questioned.

Stefan sighed heavily before he responded quietly, "she's transitioning."

"Transitioning into what?" Elena questioned in confusion.

Emily stared long and hard at Stefan as she thought what could possibly be happening to Vicki and only one thing popped into her head. She stated with wide eyes, "a vampire."

"What?" Elena whispered in shock as she glanced between her sister and Stefan.

"Damon must have gotten to her," Stefan concluded. "She's new. She hasn't completed her transformation yet," he explained.

"H-how does she do that?" Elena asked with worry in her voice.

"She has to feed on human blood," Stefan explained.

"And what if she doesn't?" Elena questioned.

Stefan stared into Elena's brown eyes as he answered, "she'll die. She may only have a few hours."

Emily looked up at Stefan in concern as she stated, "she's upstairs with Jeremy right now."

Emily went to go upstairs to check on her brother, but Stefan quickly grabbed her arm. "It's okay. She doesn't know what's happening to her yet," he consoled the green eyed girl.

Emily folded her arms over her chest as she paced the room and questioned, "when will she?"

"Right now, she doesn't remember anything," Stefan answered. "A part of her is still human, but slowly, the deeper she gets into the transition, the memories will start to come back, and then she'll know she has to make the choice," he explained.

"The same choice you made?" Elena questioned.

When Stefan didn't respond to Elena's question and the tension in the room grew, Emily sighed and sat at one the chairs in the dining room table with her head in her hands. Emily couldn't even process what was happening at the moment. She barely found out the existence of vampires, and now her brother's girlfriend was turning into a vampire.

But Emily suddenly jumped up from the chair when she heard Matt yell out for Vicki. She quickly made her way to the hallway, and barely saw Vicki run out of the front door before she slammed it behind her. Everyone followed after Matt as he ran out to the front yard to hopefully catch Vicki.

"She was fine, and then she just… she just freaked out," Jeremy explained quickly.

"I'm gonna go look for her. Call me if you hear anything," Matt commanded before running towards his pick-up truck and driving away.

Stefan moved over to the Gilbert sisters and whispered, "I can track her."

"Go," Elena commanded before Stefan quickly took off as the younger sister held onto Emily's hand for dear life.

Emily and Elena were cleaning up the mess Vicki must have made when she tried to eat everything that was in the refrigerator. Elena handed Jeremy a plate and coffee cup before Jeremy finally spoke up, "maybe we should check in with Matt."

Emily shook her head, "he'll call us when he finds her, Jer."

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Jeremy huffed.

"We wait," Elena stressed as she quickly moved around the kitchen, "we're supposed to wait."

"I don't know what's wrong with her," Jeremy told his two sisters as sadness pooled into his brown eyes.

Emily squeezed Jeremy's shoulder as she spoke softly, "Vicki will be okay. We all will, I promise." Emily knew she couldn't really promise that Vicki would be okay, but she knew Jeremy needed to hear it.

Suddenly the front doorbell rang, so Emily quickly made her way to the door, but of course she had two shadows that belonged to her siblings. Emily opened the door, thinking it was Stefan with news, but it was only the devil. She quickly tried to close the door, but Damon was way stronger and pushed it open with ease. Emily stared hard at Damon as she spoke to her brother, "Jeremy, upstairs now." Jeremy looked at his sister weirdly, but decided not to argue at the seriousness in Emily's voice and made his way upstairs.

As Emily heard Jeremy's footsteps walk up the stairs, she knew at least one of her siblings were safe from the blue eyed vampire. Emily quickly moved in front of her sister as Damon smirked down at her as he spoke, "you're afraid of me."

"I'm not afraid of anyone," Emily growled out as she tried to keep her voice strong.
Damon rolled his eyes before he guessed, "I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess. Stefan finally 'fessed up."

"Stay away from my family," Emily commanded.

Damon held his hands up in innocence, "hey, there's no need to be rude. I'm just looking for Stefan." Damon questioned, "may I come in?" He smirked and stepped through the door, "oh, wait. Of course I can. I've been invited in." Damon looked at Emily standing in front of her sister protectively and stated, "we can cut to the chase if you want. I'm not gonna kill either of you right now. That wouldn't serve my greater agenda. So…" Damon trailed off before he questioned, "where is Stefan?"

"He's out looking for Vicki," Elena responded from behind her sister.

Damon rolled his eyes at the two girls, "don't look at me with those judgy little eyes. Girl's gonna thank me for what I did for her."

Emily smirked as stared at Damon, "did you thank Katherine?"

"Mmm," Damon mumbled before turning his back to the girls. "Got the whole life story, huh?" He questioned.

"We got enough," Elena spoke again and tried to move from behind her sister, but Emily wouldn't budge her grip from Elena's hand.

"Oh, I doubt that," Damon seethed. He turned back to the sisters as he commanded, "tell my brother I'm looking for him." Damon walked out the door before turning back around and smirked, "oh, tip for later, be careful who you invite in the house."


Emily was lying in her bed when suddenly her bedroom door was threw open and standing in front of the doorway was Elena in tears. Emily quickly jumped up and stood in front of her sister as she questioned in worry, "hey. What's wrong, Lena?"

Elena gasped for breath and quickly shook her head. The only thing she could do was place her forehead on Emily's shoulder as she continued to shake as tears fell from her brown eyes. After a few moments, Elena pulled away and looked into her sister's eyes. "I told Stefan I couldn't be with him," she explained.

Emily sighed, "oh, Lena. I'm so sorry." She pulled her sister to the bed and laid her carefully down. Once Elena was on the bed, Emily pulled Elena's sneakers off and covered her sister up with her large blanket. Emily made sure her sister was okay, before she quietly laid next to Elena and began to run her fingers through her sister's long brown hair. "You're going to be okay, I promise. You're hurting right now, but I need you to breath," Emily spoke softly. She noticed her sister was having a hard time breathing with all the crying. Finally, Elena took a deep breath and gained control of her breathing. "Good girl," Emily commented as she continued, "just get some sleep, we'll deal with this in the morning."

Emily sighed when she noticed Elena finally fall asleep after a few short minutes. She leaned down and kissed Elena's forehead before she relaxed against her pillow. Even though she acted strong in front of Damon, she was beyond scared that he would have snapped and slaughtered everyone she loved. But Emily had to be strong for Elena, especially now that Elena needed her more than ever. Emily needed to protect her sister, but now she also needed to protect Jeremy since his girlfriend was a new vampire. Emily sighed, how the hell was she supposed to protect her siblings from vampires? She didn't know how she was going to do it, but she would do anything and everything to make sure her siblings would be okay even if it meant she got hurt in the process.