EDITED OCT22

"You look surprised to see me," Elijah said smirking at Nik. "So it wasn't either of you that removed the dagger from my chest," he realised, stalking towards Nik.

"I'm going to take off," Brea said, quickly retreating from the room. "You two can sort this out on your own."

"Have a good evening, Brenna," Elijah said. "Please send a text message to my mobile when you get home," he said without taking his eyes off his brother.

"Yup," Brea popped, before looking at Nik one last time and leaving the house. Just as she shut the front door she heard a smash as they clearly started fighting. She grimaced before walking to her car and driving off.

Brea slammed open the door to Matt's house and dropped her bags in the doorway. "Bloody hell, Brea!" Matt exclaimed in shock.

"Did you know?"

"Know what?"

"About the coffins."

"Huh?" Matt asked and Brea narrowed her eyes at him.

"Ok," Brea said sitting down. "I believe you," she said dropping her head into her hands.

"Believe me about what?" he asked as he placed a hand on her back. "It's ok that I'm confused right? I have no idea what's going on."

"You know the coffins right? The one Klaus put his siblings in? The one he put Kol in?" Brea asked and Matt nodded. "Well I told you how Stefan took them and that's why he kidnapped Elena and me. Well sometime after that Elena found out where they were. I asked her if she knew where they were this morning and she lied straight to my face and said no. She knew Matt. She knew and she kept him from me. Now Nik has the coffins again and he's not going to wake Kol up," she said sadly and Matt sighed and placed his hand on Brea's shoulder comfortingly.

"Why won't he wake him up?" Matt asked.

"Because there's another coffin that Damon got out before Klaus showed up and took the coffins back. He's scared of what's in it, Matt. I've never seen him scared before. He's never had to be. And they all want to release whatever's in there," she told Matt, careful not to give away too much.

"Have you spoken to Elena about it all?" he asked.

"No, I yelled at her before I took off from the house. She just stared at me crying, she couldn't even say sorry. I'm sorry by the way, Matt."

"What for?"

"For barging in here. I didn't even ask if I could stay and I came in here all mad. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise, I've told you before, mi casa es tu casa," he laughed. "I get it. Come on, you talked to me all summer, I understand. I'm not going to hold it against you. I think you're right to be mad."

"Thanks, Matt," Brea smiled hugging him.

"You're always welcome to stay here. I mean you're like a million years older than me, so you know, respect the elderly."

"Ok," Brea laughed pulling away and she shoved his shoulder. "I'm going to bed, I'm exhausted. Plus Ric wants to meet up in the morning for training so I guess I better go," Brea smiled. "Thanks, Matt, I mean it," she said kissing his cheek before picking up her bag and going into her room.

Mystic Falls, 984 A.D.

"All right ladies, pick your horse," Brenna smiled at Rebekah and Tatia.

"I pick Elijah," Tatia said quickly.

Rebekah rolled her eyes and crossed her arms and Brenna smiled gently at her sister. "Don't you want to take a moment to consider your other two options?" Brenna asked. She had wanted to pick Elijah.

"I'm fine with my choice, thank you," Tatia said whilst trying to peer past Brenna's shoulder to look at the boys standing not too far away.

"Ok, Rebekah?" Brenna asked.

"I'll go Nik," Rebekah said glaring at Tatia, not that she noticed.

"Oh, ok," Brenna said, turning to look at the three boys. "I guess that leaves me with your brother Kol," she sighed.

"You got the dud," Rebekah laughed.

"You're cruel," Brenna gasped.

"Not necessarily. Elijah and Nik spend all their time practising swordplay whilst Kol dedicates his time to magic, Elijah and Nik have a much higher chance of winning a race than Kol," Rebekah shrugged.

"Come on," Brenna said smiling as they walked over to the boys.

"You've made your decisions?" Elijah asked.

"We have," Brenna nodded.

"I'm owed a kiss if I win," Kol smirked at Brenna and Nik glared daggers at his brother.

"A kiss from whichever girl has picked you?" Brenna asked.

Kol looked confused, not wanting to fall into a trap. "Yes," he agreed.

"You wish to receive a kiss from your sister?" Brenna asked feigning shock, "Kol, I do not believe your father would approve."

Kol's eyes widened, "Rebekah has me? I uh… no… I don't," he stuttered.

"Stop it, Brenna," Rebekah laughed, slapping her friend's shoulder.

"Ready to race?" Tatia asked wiggling her eyebrows

"Ok, when I drop…" Brenna said looking around before picking something up. "This stick, you begin. Alright, on your marks, get set," Brenna said before dropping the stick and the boys took off running. The girls began cheering, encouraging the men to run fast. They ran around the huts they'd designated as a turning point and began to loop their way back around. Kol was lagging behind so Brenna called out "go Kol! Go!" Hearing this, Kol was filled with a new determination and pushed himself harder to just overtake his brothers and cross the finish line first. "Yes!" Brenna squeaked throwing her arms up and turning towards the girls. "My horse won," Brenna laughed.

"Bloody Nik," Rebekah scowled.

"It's alright, I'm sure Elijah did his best," Tatia said smiling.

"I will be collecting my prize," Brenna laughed. "You two must each build me a flower crown for my hair, as we agreed."

"Fine," the two losing girls grumbled.

"And how about my prize?" Kol asked as the three men came up to the girls, now that they'd regained their breath.

"I'm shocked Kol," Brenna smiled. "You still want a kiss from your sister?"

"Stop it," Rebekah laughed elbowing Brenna.

"Oh come, come darling. I heard you cheering for me," Kol smirked. "You owe me a kiss."

"Oh do I?" Brenna challenged, "I do not recall agreeing to that."

"I just won you two flower crowns, a kiss would be much appreciated."

"Oh shut up, Kol," Nik snapped.

"Very well, one kiss," Brenna sighed and Kol's face lit up, whilst Nik's fell and Elijah placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort. Brenna took Kol's hands and got up on her tippy toes, ready to kiss him. When Kol closed his eyes in anticipation, Brenna changed her direction and pecked him on the cheek instead, before returning to the ground and releasing his hands as the girls burst out laughing.

"Ah, tricky," Kol said smiling and pointing his finger at her. "That's just one of the many reasons I like you. I guess that's my fault for not specifying where I would like you to kiss me. That is a mistake I will be sure not to repeat next time."

"What makes you so sure there will be a next time?" Brenna teased.

Kol's face dropped and turned serious and he took a step towards her, so his back was to the group and the others were partially blocked out from their conversation. "Because I will not rest properly until I have kissed you at least once," Kol smiled reaching his hand up to tuck a loose piece of hair behind Brenna's ear. "But I plan on having the pleasure of kissing you a lot more than just once if you'll have me," he smiled before stepping back, inviting the group back in, his face returning to one of mischief while Brenna stood shocked at what he had just said.

Donk! Brea heard waking her up from her dream. "Matt?" Brea asked.

"Yeah, sorry, that was me," Matt said from near her door.

"You ok?" Brea asked.

"Yeah, just walked into the wall is all," Matt replied.

Brea sat up confused. "Walked into the wall?"

"Yeah, sorry for waking you," Matt replied before he shut the door to his room and Brea fell back to sleep.

"Twist your hips, you'll never land a punch like that," Ric said letting go of Brea's fist. Brea went back and threw another punch at him and Ric grabbed her hand and spun her around so he had her in a headlock. "No, not it, go again," he said releasing her.

"What's the point?" Brea growled.

"You need to learn how to defend yourself, Brea. You aren't always going to have an Original, or a Salvatore or Katherine to protect you."

"You're grumpy," Brea said as she punched Ric's gloves.

"Hungover, I was drinking whiskey last night."

"Always a good way to spend a night," Brea grunted.

"I'm sorry ok," Ric said stopping. "I really am. I'm so so sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Brea asked confused.

"Having Meredith over, kissing her in your house. Jenna's house. I don't want you feeling uncomfortable in your own house, so I promise you, I won't invite someone else over ever again until you're comfortable with it. I won't drive you out of your own house."

"You think that's why I left?" Brea asked and Ric nodded. "Ric, no, I'm happy for you. I really am, you deserve happiness, truly. You've had a hard go of it in the relationship department. I left because of Elena. Not you."

"What'd Elena do?" Ric asked as he started packing up their equipment.

Brea frowned. "Did you know about the coffins?" she asked.

"The ones Stefan stole? What about them?" Ric asked.

"Elena, Bonnie and Damon knew where they were," Brea said and Ric looked shocked. "I asked Elena yesterday morning if she knew where the coffins were and she said no. Kol is in there Ric, Kol. I want them all back, they're all my family. But they could've just given me Kol. She lied to my face Ric, and I'm not ok with that."

"I'm sorry," Ric said and Brea looked at him. "I'm really sorry, I didn't know," he said grabbing her and hugging her. "I can talk to her if you want?" he offered and let her go. "You deserve to be happy, Brea, she shouldn't keep that from you."

"Thank you," Brea said sincerely. "I had to rely on Matt last night for comfort. The boy has the emotional maturity of an apricot," Brea smiled.

"I don't know what that means, but I like it," Ric laughed.

"Don't worry about talking to her though. I don't want to put you in the middle, it's not fair. Why are you so ok with it?" Brea asked. "Damon's been very disapproving about the whole thing."

"Brea," Ric said grabbing her hand and holding it up. "I have never seen you take this ring off. That means something. You wouldn't take it off even when you didn't have all your memories. All I want is for you, Elena and Jeremy to be happy, and if he makes you happy, then I want that for you. I mean I'm not so keen on the rest of the family, but I'd never want to keep him from you. I'm going to take off, you coming?"

"I have to make a call, and I don't really want to see Elena so I'm just going to head back to Matt's. I'll see you later though," Brea said and Ric nodded.

"Yeah, see you, I need an aspirin," he groaned as he walked back to his car.

"No!" Brea laughed, she'd been on the phone with Katherine for 15 minutes. "I cannot believe you, Katerina. You went to Paris and you didn't get me a pair of shoes?"

"No," Katherine laughed. "I got you a bag, it's in the mail, you'll like it, I promise."

"Thanks," Brea smiled.

"Stop trying to distract me with fashion talk. I swear, give me the word and I'll come back and knock that doppelgängers head off."

"Katerina," Brea scolded.

"Brenna," Katherine threw back. "I mean it."

"Yeah, I know you do. I do not approve. Both of you are my sisters, I just happen to like you a lot more at the moment."

"I always love to hear that," Katherine replied.

"Brenna," a voice said from behind Brea and she spun around on the ground to see Elijah.

"Elijah," Brea said in shock. "Love you, bye," she said quickly hanging up the phone now that Elijah was here. "Good morning," Brea greeted.

"Morning. I apologise, I didn't mean to cut your conversation short, but I heard your voice on my walk so I thought I'd come to see you."

"How much did you hear?" Brea asked, nervous for her sister's safety.

Elijah smiled, "I heard nothing."

Brea's face broke into a smile. "Thank you," she said moving to hug him.

"May I escort you to your car?" Elijah offered.

"Certainly," Brea said as she shot off a quick text.

B - Don't worry, he won't tell, you're all clear x.

"So your family is still daggered," Brea said.

"For now," Elijah said. "I'm working on it," he said and Brea nodded. "I hear you've been spending time with my brother."

"Yeah, a bit."

"I suppose I have you to thank then for there still being a population in Mystic Falls town."

"Hm?"

"You know him. He doesn't react well to having your attention withheld from him."

"He killed my ex-boyfriend, Chad, John, Dana, and technically Elena for a while. The fallout of his actions nearly killed Damon, Caroline and Tyler and technically killed my brother, again temporarily. It's hard to forgive it."

"And how about Jenna?" Elijah asked and Brea froze.

"Brenna?" he asked curiously as he approached her. "Your aunt?" he repeated as he watched her carefully. "Is she not dead?"

"I can't say," Brea muttered.

"He compelled you," Elijah realised. "But he kept your aunt alive," he smiled softly. "Brenna, I am so sorry for all the suffering caused by my brother, I truly am. He is trying to be better, I can tell just from one night being back. He won't want to undagger Kol until your relationship with him is healed."

Brea just snorted. "By not undaggering Kol, he's not helping his chances."

"But surely you must have some idea. Kol was always so jealous of your relationship with Niklaus. The bond you have with Nik is so hard to come across. It's been that way for a thousand years. It's hard to understand the impact of a friendship that long on your heart. But after a thousand years of being together, our whole family, and our hearts have combined in such a way that I believe we will always forgive each other, even for the most heinous crimes. We have always had each other and we always will," Elijah said kissing Brea on the forehead. Elijah removed his hands and stepped back, his face turning more serious. "I have no doubt you have asked my brother about the contents of the fourth coffin?" he asked and Brea nodded. "He told you?" he asked and Brea nodded again. "Have you told…"

"No. Absolutely not. I'd never do that. But we need to get that coffin, Elijah. He's really worried about it."

"I'm working on it. Niklaus and I are to have dinner with the Salvatore brothers," Elijah said as Brea's phone rang. "Do you need to get that?" he asked.

"No, it's just Elena," Brea said declining the call. "We're not talking."

"Yes, I can understand why. Anyways, we are having dinner tonight if you'd like to join us. I believe you will find it most enjoyable," he said reaching over and opening her car door.

"Yeah, I'll be there, count me in," Brea said climbing in her car. "I'll see you then," she said and he smiled and shut her door and she drove off, ignoring her phone as Elena called again.

"Urgh go away, you incessant woman," Brea groaned declining the tenth call from Elena as she waited on her takeaway lunch from the Grill.

"Hello, my favourite reincarnating person."

"Damon," Brea greeted coldly turning her head to see Damon had sat on the seat next to her. "What can I do for you?" she asked, facing forwards again.

"We never hang out anymore, I miss my good old friend Brenna. "

"Yeah, well I miss my friend Damon. Haven't seen him lately."

"Would it mean much if I said sorry?" he asked. "Look I shouldn't have kept your boy toy from you, but we can't let Klaus win."

"I was on your side when you wanted to get Katherine out of the tomb. Even when the others weren't. I didn't even have my memories then. And I still helped you. You knew where he was and you deliberately kept him from me."

"Well, you've been hanging around Originals so much lately that I was worried you'd spill the beans."

"Sure, maybe I would have. But all I primarily wanted was Kol. And my old friend Damon would've helped me. I'm the same person Damon. The same person I was in 1864. You're not," Brea said picking up her sandwich. "Now what do you want?" she asked irritated.

"I'd love to know what's hidden in the fourth coffin," he smirked leaning his head on his hand.

Brea rose her eyebrows. "Seriously? Screw you," she snapped getting off her seat and storming out as she heard Damon groan. He knew he stuffed up. Her phone rang again and she saw it was Caroline so she answered, "Hey!"

"Hey, it's me, don't hang up it's urgent," Elena's voice spoke.

"Urgh, what?"

"Caroline's dad died."

"What!"

"That's why I've been trying to reach you. Meet us at Caroline's house. He had vampire blood in his system, he's in transition."

"What? How?"

"Tyler attacked him by accident last night and he got really hurt. Meredith used vampire blood to save him and then someone killed him."

"Ok, ok. I'm on my way."

"I have to pop home, so I'll meet you after. I won't be gone long," Elena said hanging up. Brea let out a shaky breath and changed her destination from the Mikaelson house to Caroline's. She pulled over and grabbed her phone to send a text to Elijah.

B - Sorry, can't make it tonight. So sorry, let me know how it goes. Caroline's dad is dying, I need to be there x

Mikaelson Mansion

"Niklaus," Elijah called as he opened the front door to Damon and Stefan. "Our guests have arrived."

"Damon. Stefan. I'll admit you weren't the guests I was hoping would arrive first, but alas, here we are," Klaus said with a smirk.

"Apologies brother," Elijah said looking at his phone. "The darling Brenna will not be joining us tonight. Friend emergency. I'm sure she'll fill you in later."

Nik's face turned to one of disappointment before he looked back at Stefan and Damon and corrected it back to a smirk. "Elijah tells me you seek an audience. Very bold. Let's discuss the terms of our agreement like civilised men, shall we?" he said gesturing to the dining table.

"It's better to indulge him," Elijah said walking past Stefan and Damon.

"I didn't, uh, come here to eat Klaus," Stefan groaned. "In fact, I didn't want to come here at all, but I was told I had to because you would hear us out."

Klaus chuckled. "Well, we can sit and eat, or I can reach down your throats and pull out your insides, the choice is yours. Don't think I haven't forgotten what you did to Brenna on that bridge. Now Brenna has asked me to refrain from taking revenge, but I don't usually make exceptions in allowing those who hurt her to live," Klaus said glaring at Stefan.

They all then sat down to eat and after a few minutes of silence. "You lost your appetite?" Klaus asked Stefan.

"Eat," Damon ordered. "I thought we agreed that we would leave the grumpy Stefan at home."

"That's the spirit," Klaus smirked when Stefan succumbed and started eating. "Isn't this nice? The four of us dining together. Could've been nicer with five, but we make do. Such a treat. Is this what you had in mind when you pulled the dagger out of my brother?"

"Well, I knew how he felt about you, so I figured the more, the merrier," Damon smiled.

"Yes, because Brenna has left your side, hasn't she? She's well on her way to forgiving me for some past indiscretions. Every day she pulls further and further away from you."

"Brenna's feelings change on a daily basis," Damon smirked, causing Klaus to glare at him.

Klaus composed himself. "Well, Elijah and I have had our share of quarrels over the centuries, but we always make it through."

"Kind of like you and Rebekah, right?" Stefan asked and Klaus turned his glare to Stefan. "Where is she, by the way? Last I checked she was still daggered because you were afraid to face her."

"If you're referring to the fact that Rebekah knows I killed our mother, I've already come clean to Elijah."

"Hey, Stef," Damon interrupted. "Remember when you killed dad? Might want to dial down the judgment till dessert."

"We're here to make a deal, Damon," Stefan retorted. "Doesn't mean we need to kiss his ass for seven-course."

"I'm just saying, we have a long evening ahead of us, pace yourself.

Caroline's House

"Care," Brea called, slamming her car door and running to the porch where Caroline was sitting. She threw herself down next to her friend and hugged her. "I am so, so sorry Care," Brea said, stroking her friend's hair. Caroline hugged Brea back immediately without saying anything, but Brea could feel her sweater getting wet with Caroline's tears.

"Hey," Elena said after a few minutes when she arrived.

"Hey," Caroline said wiping her eyes and pulling away from Brea. Elena moved to sit down on the other side of Caroline.

"So did you hear back from Tyler yet?" Elena asked.

"No. And I've left messages for him everywhere," Caroline said sadly and Brea took her hand. "So does Alaric really think that Dr Fell did it?"

"What?" Brea asked.

"It happened outside the hospital when he was leaving last night," Elena said filling Brea in. "And before, Brian Walters, the medical examiner, well he's her ex and he died the night of the fundraiser after he called her a psycho. He was staked, like a vampire, with one of our stakes from the lake house."

"What?" Brea asked shocked.

"The knife that killed Caroline's dad was one of ours from the crawl space in the foyer, Ric showed Meredith all that stuff last night when she was over. It all adds up, she was Damon's first suspect."

"But why would she try to kill Bill after saving him with vampire blood?" Brea asked and Elena shrugged unsurely.

"Ric doesn't know what to think," Elena shrugged.

"What about you?" Caroline asked Elena.

"Heh," Elena huffed. "I wish the girl Alaric liked wasn't in the middle of all this. He deserves to be happy."

"He really does," Brea said recalling their conversation from earlier in the day.

"But, yeah, she looks guilty. That's why I told your mom," Elena said to Caroline.

Caroline went quiet for a moment while she tuned in to a conversation from inside the house. "My mom's in there sitting with my dad. I don't think they've been in the same room this long since I was 10 years old. Is there any chance that Tyler did it?" Caroline asked and Brea's eyes went wide.

"What?" Elena asked shocked.

"Care, no," Brea answered. "He loves you. He'd never hurt you like this."

"But what if Klaus was trying to mess with you," Caroline said to Elena. "And he's sired to Klaus and… I mean, he does everything that he's told."

"No," Elena said. "No, I don't think Tyler did this."

"He didn't," Brea said.

"How can you be sure?" Caroline asked getting teary.

"Klaus promised, no more attacks on my friends, you have to trust me," Brea said trying to comfort Caroline.

"I can't just let my father die," Caroline choked. "I'm going to force him to feed."

"Hey," Brea said holding Caroline's hands with both of hers now. "It's ok."

"He doesn't want to Caroline," Elena said as kindly as she could. "The only thing your dad has is his choice."

"You can't take that from him," Brea said softly.

"I hated him so much for what he did to me. So much," Caroline cried. "Now all I want to do is save his life."

"Of course you do," Elena assured.

"He's your father," Brea finished.

Caroline looked Brea in the eyes and then looked at Elena. "What was the hardest part for the two of you?" she asked. "When you guys lost your dad?"

Brea and Elena took a breath and looked at each other sadly. "Realising all the things that he wouldn't be there for," Elena answered. "The things that, you just need your dad for you know?"

Caroline started crying and turned to look at Brea. "For me," Brea said, "it was the fact that I'd never get to talk to him again. It leaves an empty feeling in your heart for a long time. Never getting to say goodbye. I'd never get to tell on Jeremy again to him. Never get to talk to him about baseball or history. Just the little things that add up that you don't even realise you're going to miss until they're gone." Caroline nodded and tears started falling from her eyes. Brea sighed sadly and pulled her friend in for a hug. She looked up at her sister to see her sitting awkwardly to the side and she nodded gently at her. Elena smiled, reached over and Brea let her sister into the hug.

Brea saw movement out of the corner of her eye and looked up to see Matt standing there. Brea's movement made the other two other girls look up and see him. "Hey," he greeted.

"Hey," Caroline sniffled, standing up to hug him. While hugging Caroline he caught Brea's eye and she nodded at him, silently thanking him for coming when she texted him.

Mikaelson Mansion

"Stefan, where is the lovely Elena tonight?" Elijah asked.

"I don't know. Ask Damon," Stefan snarked making Klaus laugh and Elijah threw his hands up confused.

"I'm sorry. You missed so much. Uh, trouble in paradise," Klaus laughed.

"One more word about Elena and, uh, this dinner is over," Stefan snapped.

"Hey," Damon said, coming in quickly to diffuse the situation. "You know what? Probably best just to keep Elena in the do not discuss pile."

"You're probably right," Klaus agreed. "It's just the allure of the Petrova doppelgänger is still so strong. I mean, I've always preferred Brenna out of the two, no question about it. But what do you say, brother, should we tell them about Tatia?"

"Now, why should we discuss matters long since resolved," Elijah said nervously.

"Well given their shared affection for both Elena and Katerina, and their friendship with Brenna, I think our guests might be curious to learn about the originator of the Petrova line."

"We're not going anywhere, Elijah. Please. Do tell," Damon said civilly.

"A few years after our family first settled here, a new family arrived and within them, there was a girl named Tatia, with a twin named Brenna. Both of them were exquisite beauties. Every boy of age desired to be one of their suitors, even though Tatia had a child with another man. None loved her more than Niklaus," Elijah said and Klaus snorted.

"Oh, I'd say there was one who loved her more," Klaus looked at Elijah. "She was a mere passing fancy for me while I hoped to gain the attention of another, one much more beautiful," he said and Elijah sent him a warning glance.

"Wait a minute," Stefan said. "So, you both fancied the same girl for a while?" Stefan laughed at the irony. "And you," he said pointing at Klaus, "still love the same girl as your other brother? Brilliant."

"Our mother was a very powerful witch," Elijah said quickly, in order to turn the conversation away from Klaus and Brenna. "She sought to end our feud over Tatia and so she took her. Klaus and I would later learn it was Tatia's blood that we consumed in the wine on the night when our mother performed the spell that turned us into vampires. Tatia wouldn't make a decision between the two of us, so for a time, Niklaus and I grew estranged. Harsh words were traded. We even came to blows, didn't we, brother?"

"But in the end, we recognised the sacred bond of family," Klaus said.

"Family above all," Elijah agreed, lifting his glass for a toast.

"Family above all," Klaus agreed clinking his glass against Elijah's.

"So why don't we move this evening along and discuss the terms of our proposal?" Elijah asked as a waitress came and cleared the table.

"It's very simple," Damon said. "Klaus gets his coffin back. In exchange, he and the original extended family leave Mystic Falls forever. Me, Stefan, Elena and Brenna live happily ever after. No grudges."

"The deal sounds almost fair, brother. However, I believe Brenna can make her own decision on whether to leave or go," Elijah said and Damon tilted his glass in agreement.

"I don't think you understand. If Brenna wanted to stay here, I'd never leave her. Besides, Elena's doppelgänger blood ensures that I will always have more hybrids to fight those that oppose me. I will never leave either of them behind. Say Brenna leaves town with us and I do leave Elena here. Under your protection. What then? How long before one of you turns her into a vampire? Or worse, how long before she dies, caught between your feuding? You see each one of you truly believes that you're the one that can protect her. And that is simply a delusion. Gentlemen, the worst thing for Elena Gilbert is the two of you," Klaus smirked.

"I'm going to get some air," Damon said breaking the tension.

"Let me deal with this," Elijah said getting up from the table and following Damon out.

Gilbert House

"Thanks for walking us home," Elena said to Matt as they arrived at the Gilbert house.

"You guys doing ok?" Matt asked Elena. "This has to bring up a lot of you both."

"We've all lost a lot," Elena said avoiding his question directly.

"It's this town," Matt said. "It's messed up. I mean none of us should have to live this way."

"All the bad things in all my lives," Brea said and the other two listened. "Majority of it happened in this town. This is the third time I've lived here and the third time it's been crap. The first time, vampires were created and this bloody spell was put on me and I died for the first time. The second time there was the whole 1864 vampire fiasco and now this. It's a death town." Elena nodded and unlocked the door to the house and tried to flick on the light switch. "Power's out?" Brea asked.

"Yeah, that's weird," Elena said.

"Electricity must be out," Matt agreed as Elena and Brea walked in and Matt shut the door behind them.

"There are torches in the kitchen cupboard," Brea said and she and Elena made their way towards the kitchen.

"It's a flashlight," Elena chuckled. "Your newfound Britishness is very cute," Elena said reaching into the cupboard and pulling out torches as they heard rustling behind them. "Here," Elena gasped, quickly handing Matt and Brea a torch each. They turned their torch on to see nothing, "Brea, you put all the candles over there right?" Elena asked walking to the other side of the kitchen.

"Yeah, they should be," Brea said standing next to Matt. "They've all got really nice scents as well. I love candles," she said to Matt.

"Oh, I know," he smirked. "You've got them in every room of my house."

"Oh my god!" Elena gasped.

"What?" Brea asked as she and Matt ran over to the other side of the kitchen bench. When they got there Brea let out a large gasp as she saw a huge pool of blood on the ground and she looked down at her ring. It was dull, they were safe.

"What the hell?" Matt asked shocked. Matt then raised his torch to highlight a bloody handprint on the wall.

"My ring is dull, so it should be safe, but I don't know," Brea said, her voice shaking. The three of them reached forward and pulled out a knife from the knife block each and held them up defensively. Elena directed her torch down to follow the bloody tracks while Brea kept hers up to highlight the passage. They rounded the corner to see the whole staircase was covered in blood and handprints. The picture frames on the wall were askew indicating a struggle. Elena slowly made her way upstairs and Brea slipped her hand into Matts, afraid of what they might see upstairs. As they reached the top of the stairs, Elena's torch lit up a pair of shoes and she pulled the torch up the body to find Ric lying in Jeremy's doorway, unconscious, a blade plunged into his chest. "Ric!" Brea screamed and she pulled out of Matt's hand and slid down next to his body to check for a pulse.

"Ric, no!" Elena exclaimed moments later after she'd recovered briefly from the shock. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," Elena panicked.

"He has a pulse," Brea said happily.

Elena nodded and went to pull out the knife and Ric groaned in pain. "Leave it in!" Matt urged. "He's lost too much blood. I'm going to call 911," Matt said standing up.

"Hurry!" Brea pleaded and Matt nodded.

"Ric, look at me," Elena said grabbing Ric's face. "Who did this to you?" she asked.

"I don't know," Ric panted.

"Matt…" Brea pleaded desperately looking behind her to see Matt on the phone.

"Oh my god," Elena said panicking. "There's a lot of blood Matt."

"I know. I know, Elena. I know."

"You have to kill me," Ric said.

"What?" the twins asked confused.

"One of you, you have to kill me."

"What?" Brea squeaked and Elena's face dawned with realisation and she grabbed Ric's hand to see the ring. "No, no, no, no," Brea said shaking her head. "What if it doesn't work?"

"It will," Elena assured grabbing her sister's hand. "Wait, wait. Matt, hang up. Hang up. He's right. If he dies a supernatural death, then he'll come back to life and he'll be healed."

"How do you know who did this is supernatural?" Matt asked.

"We don't," Brea said.

"That's what he's saying," Elena tried to explain quickly. "We don't know. But we are. I'm a doppelganger. Brea reincarnates. That makes us supernatural," Elena said and Brea started shaking. "It's ok, it's ok," Elena said placing her hand on Brea's cheek. "I'll do it. It's ok."

"You have the experience," Brea cried. "You daggered Mikael."

Elena smiled slightly. "Don't make me laugh right now," she said as she let go of Brea and shakily picked up the knife.

"Elena! No, this is messed up!" Matt said trying to talk her out of it.

"He's dying Matt," Elena reasoned.

"This is the best chance we have," Brea said looking back at her friend. Elena took a couple of deep breaths before bringing the knife back down into Ric. Brea screamed slightly and flung herself back to have Matt catch her and lift her up to her feet, holding her tight.

Mikaelson Mansion

"Mm. Delicious," Klaus said as the girl he was drinking from died. "Aged to perfection."

"Well," Stefan huffed. "I guess the only reason you agreed to this evening, Klaus is to drive a wedge between me and my brother."

"No, I agreed to this evening because I was promised Brenna would be attending. The wedge, well that was just an extra perk, and you're doing that well enough on your own," he smirked. "Because of Elena, you're going to lose your brother and you only have yourself to blame."

"What do you say, Klaus," Damon said coming back into the room with Elijah. "Time for you to put something on the table. We've made our offer. Now, you counter."

"Okay," Klaus agreed. "I offer Elena's future happiness. You see, what she needs right now is to be rid of you lot and to fall in love with a human. Maybe that nice football player, you know the blonde one that Brenna follows around everywhere."

"Matt Donovan?" Damon asked incredulously. "Really?"

"Yeah, why not. They'll marry, live a long and fruitful life, and pop out a perfect family."

"And continue the Petrova line," Stefan said knowing Klaus' end goal. "Every few hundred years, you'll have a new doppelgänger to drain and never run out of hybrids, right Klaus?"

"Consider it a small return on my investment in her well-being. See, after you hand me back the coffin, I'll ensure her safety for the rest of her natural life. You know it's what's best for her. So what do you say, Stefan? Huh? Do we have a deal?"

"We do," Stefan agreed, slowly walking forward to shake Klaus' hand, however before he shook it he said. "Nice try, Klaus. But no deal." In anger Klaus broke Stefan's arm and leg, causing him to collapse on the floor, allowing Klaus to shove his hand into the fireplace allowing it to burn. Damon moved forward to help him but Elijah grabbed him and pinned him against the wall.

"What are you doing?" Damon choked and Elijah sent him a warning look before slowly releasing him. "Stop!" Damon yelled at Klaus.

Klaus released Stefan and turned to Damon. "Now bring me my coffin before I burn him alive," he said as Stefan groaned in agony.

"I'll get it," Damon agreed, storming out of the room.

"Go with him, brother," Klaus asked Elijah. "You keep him honest. When you return, I will make good on my promise to you and I will hand over our family," he said. Elijah nodded and left the room to follow Damon.

"Go ahead, kill me," Stefan snapped. "I know you'll do it when he brings the coffin."

Klaus grabbed Stefan up from his knees to stand and pushed him across the room. "You really have given up, haven't you? Where's the fight? Where's the ripper?" he taunted and Stefan shoved him off of him. "Elijah," Klaus greeted as Elijah and Damon walked back into the room, accompanied by a waitress. "Why haven't you left?"

"Well, where are your manners, brother? We forgot dessert," Elijah said whipping the cloth off the tray the waitress was holding to reveal two silver daggers.

Klaus' face turned to fear. "What have you done?"

"What have you done?" Elijah asked back. "See, I've learned not to trust your vulgar promises, Klaus. We're doing this on my terms now," he said and a man walked out from behind the door.

Klaus' eyes widened with pure fear. "Kol," he shakily said raising his hands in fear.

"Long time, brother," Kol said stalking towards Klaus.

"Ahh," Damon mused quietly as he smirked, watching the man he knew only by name saunter into the room.

Klaus kept backing up before trying to make a run for it, only to be intercepted. "Finn, don't," Klaus begged before Finn plunged one of the daggers through Klaus' hands, causing him to scream in pain. Once Finn retracted the dagger, Klaus took off in the other direction, only to have Rebekah cut him off. "Rebekah," he pleaded and she smirked before plunging her dagger into his stomach making him scream.

"This is for our mother," she hissed before pulling out the dagger and shoving him backwards into Kol's waiting arms.

Kol grabbed his arms and pulled them back so Klaus couldn't escape. "You're going to pay for daggering me in front of my wife," Kol growled in his brother's ear.

"You're free to go," Elijah said dismissing Damon and Stefan. "This is family business. Please ask that she call me," he requested. He knew if he mentioned Brenna by name, Kol would leave immediately.

Gilbert House

Elena and Brea sat by Ric's side on the ground waiting… hoping that he would wake up. "He's still out?" Matt asked as he came back upstairs after getting the power on.

"Caroline called," Elena told Matt. "Her dad died."

"Will you stay with us?" Brea asked Matt desperately.

"Until he wakes up?" Elena added.

Matt reached across and grabbed each of the twin's hands. "Of course."

"I can't lose any more family," Elena cried before looking up at Brea. "I'm so scared of losing you to the Originals. I'm so scared. I have nightmares about it. I think that's why I kept them from you. I didn't want to see who you'd choose if it came down to it. I know it was wrong and I'm so, so sorry," Elena cried. "I didn't even mean to do it, you're my best friend, you're my twin, and I know I've done so many things to hurt you and I can't apologise enough. I just can't imagine my life without you and I think I do these things to keep you in my life but they always backfire and push you further away. I'm so sorry Brea."

Brea nodded and pulled her sister into a hug and they cried into each other. After a moment they felt larger arms circle the both of them and Matt pulled both of them to him for a hug. "You want to call Damon?" Brea said to Elena and Elena nodded and got up to make the call.

"He didn't answer," Elena said after it rang a couple of times.

"Try Sheriff Forbes if she's up to it?" Brea suggested. "Maybe she's looked into Meredith."

Elena nodded and dialled the Sheriff, "Hey, Sheriff Forbes, it's Elena. Just wondering if you had a chance to look into Meredith, see if she could've been the one to attack Ric?" she asked and Liz began talking back to Elena, but Brea couldn't hear. "She has an alibi?" Elena asked and Brea whipped her head up to look at her sister. It wasn't Meredith. "Then who could it be?" Elena asked. While Elena was listening to Liz, Alaric began coughing and sprung back to life.

"Ric," Brea breathed in relief as she tried to support his shoulders while he tried to sit up. "Lie down, lie down," Brea encouraged and Ric nodded and collapsed his head back onto the throw pillow Elena had set under his head. Elena came skidding to the floor next to Brea and grabbed his hand and all three let out a collective sigh of relief.

Mikaelson Mansion

"I like what you've done with the new place, Nik," Rebekah said as she stalked around the dining room. She picked up a vase and tossed it across the room, knocking a painting off the wall.

"I wanted it to be for all of us," Nik sighed, looking down at the floor. "A place we could all call home. A place we could all be a family. None of us would ever have to be alone again."

"Well, you're right. None of us will be," Elijah said.

"You're staying behind," Finn clarified as Klaus looked around confused.

"We're leaving you Nik," Rebekah said. "Right after I kill that doppelgänger wench."

"If there's a doppelganger then my wife must be close by," Kol smirked. "We're going to find her, and then we're all leaving town. You won't be able to steal her company from me."

"Then you will be alone, always and forever," Rebekah snarled.

"If you run," Klaus said through gritted teeth. "I will hunt all of you down."

"And then you'll become everything you hate," Elijah reasoned. "Our father."

"I'm the hybrid!" Klaus yelled maniacally. "I can't be killed. I have nothing to fear from any of you," Klaus said pointing at his siblings.

"You will when we have that coffin," Elijah threatened, a moment later, the door to the room creaked open and the siblings all turned to see who it was. Klaus let out a whimper of fear and shock.

"Mother," Rebekah breathed as Esther walked into the room, past the siblings and towards Klaus.

Klaus looked down to the floor, unable to breathe properly, let alone speak. "Look at me," Esther ordered and Klaus slowly looked up at her, tears in his eyes. "Do you know why I'm here?"

"You're here to kill me."

"Niklaus, you are my son. And I am here to forgive you," she said before turning to the rest of the Mikaelsons, "I want us to be a family again."