When Elena had pushed him about opening up to him, Stefan had been resistant. With the spell on the two of them muted he was able to think clearly now. He did want to get to know her, but just as friends, not lovers. He had secrets he couldn't reveal to her, but that didn't mean he couldn't open up more. So, when she had sent him a text asking if he wanted to meet up for coffee, he'd agreed. Expecting that the worst of the questions that might be broached, would be centred on Katherine. So, he was completely caught off guard, with the first thing Elena said after he'd slid into the chair across from her own.

"When you Google 'Vampire', you get a world of fiction. What's the reality?"

His mind began to race. How did she know? What di she know? Who had she told? He'd been careful. All of them had. Doubly so since Tanner had died. So how had Elena put it together. And why had she decided to confront him like this. His first instinct was to play it off like a joke.

"Eh. Reality is that vampires don't exist. At least as far as I know."

"So, what are you then if you're not a vampire? When I googled 'Ageless Immortals' it led me straight to vampires. What's the reality?"

This was bad. This was very very bad. Damon was going to kill him.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"No." She replied steadily. "I'm not."

"And if I refuse to tell you anything?"

"I wonder how many animal attacks there have been in this town. And how many times you've been here when they've occurred. I'm willing to bet the answer to both is a lot."

Okay, so clearly Elena wasn't going to be put off. He couldn't half-answer his way out of this one, he would have to tell her the truth. And if she couldn't accept it, he would have to have one of the team guarding them erase her memory.

"I don't suppose I could persuade you to come back to the Boarding House with me, so that we can discuss this?"

Elena waited for the waitress to place the drinks she'd ordered down on the table and walk away before she answered.

"You know, when I figured it out, my first thought was to go straight over to the Boarding House and confront you. And then I began to wonder…"

Her pause and the look in her eyes told him what she'd been wondering before she even said it.

"… I wondered. If you were a vampire. Then what are the chances your brother is as well. And those friends of his. And your little sister/niece. That one I wasn't sure about because she seems a little young, but maybe she's in training, or do you what, grow up and then stop ageing at a certain point?"

"Maya's not a vampire, she's just a normal kid."

"So, you admit it then?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Will you at least explain? Answer my questions?"

"I will tell you anything you want to know, as long as you promise not to tell anyone else."

"Answer my questions and then I'll decide if I'll keep it to myself." She countered.

Stefan thought about it. He didn't have an outright problem with telling her anything, he knew Damon probably would once he found out. He still wouldn't be able to tell her everything, not about Maya, and not about her own link to Katherine. But he could tell her the basics. Plus, he still had the option of telling her what she wanted to know and then getting her memory modified if she couldn't handle it.

"Okay." He said after a moment, "I'll answer your questions, but not here."

"Where?"

"Let's go for a drive."

She hesitated.

"Please, Elena. I promise I wont hurt you. But if I'm going to explain this properly, I can't do it here."

She took a moment to think about it before answering.

"Okay. But I'm driving."

"Okay."

"And I get to ask you some basic questions on the way."

"Fine."

They got up and headed to her car, Stefan climbing into the passenger side as soon as she unlocked it.

"So where are we headed, take the old road out of town, I'll tell you when to turn."

"Fine."

She started up the car and began to drive following the occasional instructions he gave her, in between answering the questions she threw his way about vampire mythology. Once they had gotten far enough down the old dirt track, he'd had her turn onto he stopped her.

"What are we doing here?

"I want to show you something."

"In the middle of nowhere?"

He got out of the car, and she quickly scrambled to follow, as he led her through the trees until they stopped in the middle of what had quite clearly once been a building of some kind.

"This...Didn't used to be nowhere. Used to be my home."

"It looks so..."

"Old? It's because they are."

"Wait. How long have you..."

"I've been 17 years old since 1864."

"Oh, my god."

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

He began to tell her the story of 1864, when he used to be human, and he'd had no idea of the horrors that lay in his future. He told her everything about Katherine, her relationship with both of them, dying with her blood in their system and transitioning into vampires.

"So, how do Damon's friends fit in to this?"

"Damon met Enzo in 1953, they've been friends ever since."

"And Maggie?"

"She's the love of Enzo's life, and he's the love of hers. They got married in 1958."

"Okay. So, I know you said Maya was just a normal kid, but how does a normal kid end up living with four vampires?"

"Damon really is her godfather. He's been friends with her family since 1871, they knew what he was, and they accepted him anyway. Her parents died and Maya doesn't have any other family left so Damon got custody of her."

"Okay so, what about Mr Tanner?"

"He was killed by a vampire, but it wasn't any of us."

"So, you don't feed on humans?"

"I don't. Animal blood is enough to sustain me."

"What about, Damon, Maggie, and Enzo?"

"They all drink from blood bags. Maggie gets them, perks of working in a hospital."

He led her back to the car and Elena started driving them back towards town.

"So now that I've told you everything, what are you going to do?"

Elena was silent for a while, not answering his question.

"That mind control thing you said Katherine did on you. Have you ever used it on me?"

"Compulsion. And no, I haven't."

"Would you?"

He hesitated.

"So, you would."

"Elena, you need to understand that I have people I need to protect. If you can't or won't, keep this a secret, then you wont be leaving me with any choice. I've explained what I can, what happens next is up to you."

"Is there anyway to stop a vampire from using compulsion."

"Yes."

"But you're not going to tell me what they are."

He sighed.

"An herb called vervain, ingesting it, or wearing it will prevent a vampire from compelling you. I can give you some to wear, for your friends too if you want, and Jeremy and Jenna."

"So long as I promise to be a good little girl and not tell anyone about you?"

"No." He shook his head. "I'm not trying to blackmail you, whatever you decide, I'll give you enough vervain to protect yourself and your family from vampires."

Elena parked the car and took a deep breath, fingers drumming agitatedly against the steering wheel.

"Okay." She said finally. "I promise I will keep your secret, but I don't know if I want to be friends with you. I don't know if I can be friends with you."

"Thank you." He opened the car door and climbed out. "I'll drop the vervain off tomorrow."

With that he took off at a run, time to confess to his brother what he'd done.


"You did what?"

Damon stared at Stefan with undisguised fury. Stefan had known that Damon wasn't gonna like the fact that he'd told Elena about them being vampires. He hadn't realised he'd take it quite this badly though.

"Elena figured it out herself." Stefan said quietly.

"And instead of compelling her to forget, or asking one of the dozen or so wixen that are hanging around to modify her memory. You decided to bare your soul to her?" He shook his head in disgust. "Well good for you Stefan, you don't have to lie to her anymore. Did you even once think about the rest of us? About Maya?"

"I didn't tell her anything about Maya!" Stefan retorted angrily. "I wouldn't do that!"

"Because that makes it all better?"

"I had to tell her something!"

"No!" Damon slammed his glass down so hard that it shattered into pieces, "You didn't have to tell her anything. You chose to tell her Stefan. There were plenty of over options you could have chosen from."

"Like compulsion?"

"Yes, Stefan. Like compulsion."

"I don't like doing that to people."

"Then ask me to do it! Ask Maggie or Enzo! Don't go around confessing secrets that aren't just yours to share to every pretty girl who bats her lashes at you."

"I made a choice Damon; you don't have to like it. But you do have to accept it."

"And what if she tells someone? The Sheriff is out there right now looking for vampires and you've just told Elena exactly where four can be found."

"She's not going to tell anyone."

Damon stared at him for a moment before shaking his head in disbelief.

"Seriously? That's your defence?"

"I don't need a defence, Damon." Stefan sighed, "Look, Elena confronted me about vampires, she knew okay, and I had to make a decision."

"I know you had to make a decision –"

"You just think I made the wrong one."

"Yes. I do."

Stefan nodded. There was no point arguing about this anymore, they were just gonna keep going round in circles if they did.

"I honestly don't think Elena is going to reveal our secret to anyone."

"Let's hope that your eternal faith in people is finally going to be rewarded."


They were all gathered in the den when the doorbell rang, Dobby didn't come to fetch any of them, so they all knew it had to be someone who knew about Dobby and was allowed access to the house. Which was a pretty short list. Damon was waiting to hear from Agent Blye, so he figured it was most likely to be her. Hopefully she would have some good news for him, he could use some after Stefan's revelation earlier. He still couldn't figure out what his brother was thinking, his only guess was that the spell Maya had performed to mute the bond was wearing off. He needed to speak to Aradia, see if she was any closer to a permanent solution. But that was a problem for another day.

A minute or so after the doorbell had rung, Dobby escorted Agent Blye into the room. She looked grim and Damon's heart sunk in his chest, he was really hoping she'd have good news for him. She glanced at Maya and then looked at Damon.

"Am I okay to talk here?"

Maya frowned at her and then turned to look at him pleadingly. He shook his head. If Agent Blye wasn't sure, it should be said in front of Maya, then he would rather hear it first and then decide if it was something Maya needed to know.

"Maya, go work on your homework in your room please."

"But I want to know." She complained.

Damon shook his head again, resolute.

"No. If it's something you need to know I will tell you."

"Promise."

"Promise kiddo."

"Fine."

Maya gathered up her books and left the room, closing the door behind her. Agent Blye took a seat still looking grim and pulled an antique pocket watch out of her pocket placing it on the coffee table.

"You got it?" Damon picked the watch up off the table and opened it, examining it closely. Instead of a watch face, there was a compass, it lay still in his hand, but he knew that if Agent Blye was the one holding the compass, it would be a different story.

"We did."

"What is it?" Maggie asked, leaning in for a closer look.

Stefan on the other hand frowned at the compass in Damons hands and then looked at his brother.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"If you think this is Jonathan Gilberts vampire finding compass. Then yes." Damon replied, before looking back at Agent Blye.

"You were successful in getting the compass. So why the long face? And what didn't you want Maya to hear?"

"Logan Fell is dead."

"The news guy?"

"What?"

"He's dead?"

Damon waved off their questions and focused on Agent Blye.

"What happened?"

"Logan Fell had the compass, he was using it to search the woods by the old cemetery. Two of my team were tailing him, waiting for a chance to liberate it from his possession. They were too far back and with too many trees blocking their view to get a good look at what happened, so we still don't have a description for the vampire."

"The vampire who killed Tanner killed Fell?" Stefan asked.

"We don't know, could have been or it could have been someone else. A vampire sped in grabbed Logan and disappeared. When my team moved in to investigate, they found the compass, which they grabbed, but no sign of Logan Fell."

"Then how do you know he's dead?"

"We placed listening charms on the Sheriff's Office, weeks ago. Two hours ago, Logan Fells body was found on the outskirts of town, throat ripped out. The Sheriff ordered two of her deputies to take the body and bury it and lay a false trail that Fell had left town. Then she called the Mayor and told him that Fell was dead and the compass was missing. She is of the belief that the vampire they're looking for killed him and took the compass. Obviously, we have the compass and like I said with no description of the perp for either killing we can't determine if it was the same vampire or not."

"We got the compass away from them. That's our biggest issue solved." Damon said, examining it again. "Whoever the vampire is that killed Fell, or Tanner, whether it's one vampire or two is a problem for another day."


Damon was glad Jenna had agreed to meet him for coffee, a clear indication that Elena hadn't run screaming vampire as soon as Stefan had left her. He collected their order from the end of the coffee shops counter and handed Jenna's drink over with a smile.

"Inside or outside?"

Jenna looked contemplatively at the sky through the coffee shop window.

"It's a nice enough day, I vote for outside."

"Outside it is."

He held the door open for Jenna and then pulled the chair out from one of the tables for her to sit in.

"Ooh, A gentleman."

"What can I say. My mother taught me well."

"She must have been a hell of a woman."

Damon's smile turned fond and his gaze distant as he thought back on the time he used to spend with his mother. She'd been a good woman, but no match for the brutality of his father. None of them had been.

"She was. I still miss her."

"It's an ache that never quite goes away, isn't it?" Jenna's eyes grew sad, "I was an adult when my parents passed away and it still broke me. It's no wonder Elena and Jeremy are having a hard time coping."

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking."

Jenna shrugged.

"It's no big secret, talk of the town at the time. Last spring, my brother-in-law's car, it went into the lake. He died, drowned. My sister and Elena, both made it out of the water, but they think Miranda hit her head when the car impacted, she was unconscious when the ambulance got there and… Well, she's been in a coma since the accident."

"I'm so sorry Jenna. Is there any chance of recovery?"

"The Doctor's have pretty much said the odds of her waking up are astronomical, so no." she shook her head and took a sip of her coffee. "It's been tough, but we're working through it. At least, I think we are."

"It was tough with Maya at first as well."

"But not Stefan?"

"Well, Stefan and I have been close since childhood and he's nearly eighteen, so it's a different sort of challenge to Maya."

"How old is she?"

"Thirteen."

"How did she come into your care? Is it okay to ask?"

He smiled.

"It's fine. Jasmine, Maya's mother was an old family friend, and she asked me to be Maya's godfather. Then she died, murdered actually along with her husband, Luke. Maya was just a baby at the time, and she went to Luke's family. They… er… they abused her, physically and psychologically."

Jenna gasped, and placed her hand over her mouth.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry."

"Anyway, Maya ran away from them just over a year ago and it all came out, there wasn't any other family, so I got custody. It's been tough, but we're getting there you know?"

"I can't even imagine." Jenna shook her head. "I hope they were sent to jail."

Damon frowned darkly, he hated thinking about the Dursleys, Jail was too good for them.

"The trial hasn't happened yet, but they're being held without bail until it does happen."

"Good." Jenna said firmly, "Child abusers deserve to be locked up for life in my opinion."

"I couldn't agree more."

"So how is Maya doing with it?"

"She's good actually, she has a therapist who's been helping her work through everything. It's really helped her; she's come out of her shell so much in the past year. I think a lot of that is thanks to Dr Sam."

"I've been wondering if I should make Jeremy see a therapist, Elena too probably." Jenna shook her head, "he shoots it down every time I even vaguely mention it."

"Well, you can't force him. He has to want to go."

"Psychology Major, so I hear you."

"I can't tell you what to do, Jenna. But" Damon shrugged, "Maya and I made a deal, she would try three sessions and if she really didn't want to go back after that I wouldn't force her, but the door would always be open if she changed her mind later."

"Might be worth a try. Worst that could happen is he shoots me down again."

He smiled and picked up his coffee cup, raising it up between them.

"Too trying our best, with the kids we've found ourselves raising."

She tapped her cup to his.

"Hear, Hear."