Caroline had left sometime during the early morning hours after Elena had fallen into an exhausted slumber. That evening, her and Bonnie showed up and dragged her out of bed. They stayed home for a dinner and movies night.

The next day was Saturday and her friends were insisting she get some fresh air, so Elena agreed to a picnic. Elena knew she couldn't hide in her house forever, even if she wanted to.

On Sunday afternoon, the girls all went out for ice cream and, for the first time since she came back from 1864, Elena smiled. It didn't last more than a moment and Caroline noticed that it didn't quite reach her friends eyes, which looked haunted and unbearably sad, but it was a start.

A month went by and Elena was keeping herself busy. She avoided anything that might remind her of Damon. If she ignored the hole in her chest long enough, she figured the pain would eventually recede to a somewhat manageable level. As the days passed, she was surprised to find that between household chores, the summer class she was taking, and hanging out with Caroline and Bonnie they were all living relatively normal lives. She was surviving.

One morning, she opened the cupboard beneath the sink to get a new roll of toilet paper and saw a box of tampons. This caused her to laugh for the first time in what seemed like forever. She should have started her menses the day after the ritual and she laughed because it occurred to her that she should forgive her usually very regular cycle for being off considering she had gone back in time and then died. She realized that it shouldn't be that funny, but it felt so good to laugh and once she started laughing she couldn't seem to stop. Her life had turned into an ironic cosmic joke. She decided that she really should make a movie and call it The Tragedy of the Most Fucked Up Town Ever. Seriously, her diary already reads like some horror/tragic romance novel. She would end the movie with her own death after everyone around her dies one by one like in B list horror films. And she would write it to be as funny as possible because, really, someone somewhere should get some laughs out of this disaster.

By this point in her musings, she was slumped on the bathroom floor, tears streaking her face, still giggling uncontrollably.

That was how Bonnie and Caroline found her a couple of minutes later. Elena looked up and managed to stop laughing long enough to say "Hey, Bonnie! You should make a note in one of your books. When you die and come back to life, it throws off your menstrual cycle. Just put under the 'How to Make Someone a Fully-Functioning Zombie' spell 'P.S. This may cause problems for women and their friend TOM.' She then started giggling again.

Bonnie and Caroline stared at her, wide-eyed for a few moments, then Caroline began to giggle. Bonnie looked confusedly from Elena to Caroline and back to Elena.

"How to make someone a fully-functioning zombie spell?" Caroline choked out between gales of laughter.

"Yeah," Elena responded, "I decided we should make a horror spoof movie based on Mystic Falls. So everything needs a ridiculous title."

Bonnie began to giggle too. "What would we title the movie?"

. . .

The next day, Elena called Stefan. She knew that she should have checked on him sooner- he had lost his brother and after all he had done for her, she could at least be there for him now. She frowned as it went to voicemail. It was the third time she had called.

"What's wrong?" Caroline asked as she sat across from Elena at the Grill.

"Stefan isn't answering his phone."

"Why don't you just head over to the boarding house and check on him?"

Elena looked away. The thought of going to the house, of being somewhere that would remind her so strongly of him, was overwhelming.

"Right," Caroline said after a few moments. "I'll go check, okay?"

Elena looked up again. "Thanks. I just... I can't."

"I understand. I'll head over now and let you know."

Elena nodded and Caroline slid out of the booth, giving Elena a hug before she left.

Elena fidgeted in her seat for a while, then decided to go home and wait for Caroline to call her.

She was just stepping in her front door when her phone rang.

"Hey, hon. I'm sorry, but Stefan isn't here. Some of his dresser drawers are open, clothes are all over the bed, and his car keys are gone. It looks like he packed up and left in a hurry."

Elena nodded, then felt silly. Even Caroline's super-hearing couldn't hear a nod over the phone. She cleared her throat, "Okay, thanks for letting me know."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

Caroline didn't respond. Elena sighed, "It's just that they are both gone now and it's so surreal."

"I know. Listen, I'll come over and we can drown our troubles in ice cream."

"No, it's okay, Car. I just want to get some sleep."

"Okay, well call me if you change your mind."

"Night, Car."

"Night, 'Lena."

. . .

Elena was sitting at the Grill a few weeks later with Bonnie and Caroline. Caroline was going on about Homecoming, which was still over three months away. Elena wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to the conversation but looked up when Bonnie, clearly irritated, snapped at Caroline.

Bonnie sighed. "Sorry, Caroline. I'm just PMS-ing."

Caroline's smile, which had faded at Bonnie's snippy tone, came back. "Nothing a little chocolate can't fix!" She then produced a chocolate bar out of her purse.

"It must be nice not having to deal with it anymore," Bonnie grumbled.

Caroline's smile disappeared again. "Yeah, except for the part where I can't, you know," her voice trailed off.

Bonnie reached out and grabbed Caroline's hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't think about it." She glanced at Elena, who had gone a bit pale and was staring into space, her fingers moving as though she was counting something on them. "Elena?" When Elena didn't respond, she touched her arm. Elena's gaze snapped to Bonnie's.

"What's wrong, Elena?" Caroline asked, pulling her hand from Bonnie's grasp and grabbing Elena's hand to stop it's movement.

"It's probably nothing," Elena responded, shaking her head.

"Every time we have thought that, we have regretted it. What's up?"

"I haven't had my time of the month since the ritual. It's been two months."

"Maybe you should make an appointment with a doctor. I'll do some digging, but we don't know if it is magic related," Bonnie pointed out.

Elena nodded, "Yeah, okay. I'll call after school." She looked up at the clock, "We had better be getting to class."

"We can go with you, if you'd like. You know, to the doctor," Caroline offered.

"No, it's okay. I'll let you know how it goes."
. . .

Three days later, Elena walked out of the doctor's office and slid into the driver's seat of her car. She stared through the windshield, looking at nothing in particular, her thoughts whirling.

She was still sitting there 20 minutes later when her phone rang. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out her phone and saw it was Bonnie calling.

Taking a deep breath, she answered the call. "Hello?"

"Hey. How'd the appointment go?"

Elena could not have this conversation over the phone. She still had no idea what she should say, how she could possibly explain, what she would do.

"Elena? Is everything okay?"

Elena shook herself. She had to say something. "Um, yeah, I'm starving. Wanna meet at the Grill?"

"Yeah, sure. I actually have something I need to talk to you about," Bonnie responded.

"Okay. The Grill in 15 okay with you?"

"Yeah, see you there."

. . .

Elena chose a booth in a back corner. She wanted some privacy for this conversation. She gave Bonnie a half-smile when she slid into the booth across from her.

"I went ahead and ordered your favorite."

Bonnie nodded and, picking up a napkin, she began methodically shredding it from one corner.

"So what's going on with you?" Elena asked.

"I've been trying to find out where my mother went."

Elena didn't say anything, waiting for her to continue, and trying to block out her own swirling thoughts and emotions.

"And I," she glanced up and then looked back down at her napkin, "I found her. She lives only about 30 minutes from here."

Elena's eyes widened in surprise. "Bonnie, that's... that's great," she said, trying to gauge her friend's thoughts on the situation. "That is a good thing, right?"

Bonnie put what was left of the napkin down and looked up. "Yeah, I mean, sort of. But then, she has been so close and has never been to see me so maybe she doesn't want to."

Elena reached out and took Bonnie's hand. "I understand. When I found out I was adopted I wanted to know who my parents were but on the other hand I kind of didn't."

"I was wondering if you would come with me. You know, to go see her."

"Yeah, no problem. Just tell me when."

"Tomorrow after school okay? Waiting won't make it easier."

"Yeah, that's fine." It would help keep her mind off her own problems. It's true that waiting wouldn't make it easier, but maybe with some time she could at least find the words to explain to her friends what was going on.

At that moment, their food arrived. As the smell of the burgers reached her nose, Elena's stomach rolled. "Bathroom," she bit out as she quickly slid out of the booth and rushed to the bathroom.

She barely made it in a stall before she began throwing up. As she caught her breath, she heard the bathroom door opening.

"Elena?"

"Just give me a minute." She flushed the toilet and carefully stood. As she reached to open the stall door, she noticed her hand was shaking. Walking past Bonnie to the sink, she said, "I just suddenly felt nauseous. Sorry."

"No, its fine. Is there anything I can do?"

"If you could just have the waiter put my food in a to-go box, that would be great. I'll be out in a minute."

"Okay," Bonnie responded and left the bathroom.

Elena braced herself on the sink and stared at her reflection. She could see the fear in her own eyes and had to push back the panic spreading through her body. With shaking fingers, she turned on the faucet and splashed water on her face. Taking a deep breath, she worked to steady her nerves. She would figure this out. Once she figured out a way to tell Caroline and Bonnie, they would find a way through this. Just like they had found a way through everything else. But she would help Bonnie through her situation first. Bonnie had been there for her during the countless crises surrounding her in the last year. She deserved to have a day to concentrate only on her own problems for once.