Elena was sitting in the living room of the Gilbert Lake house. It had been about two weeks since Damon died. She had told Jenna and Jeremy the truth about the real Elena. Understandably, they had been devastated, and Elena knew that being around her only made it worse, so a few days later, she chose to leave. Jenna had tried to convince her not to, but she couldn't stay with the knowledge that it wasn't her they really wanted. She couldn't watch their pain, and she couldn't make their pain worse.

Once she knew Elena wasn't going to change her mind, Jenna had asked her to take the lake house. Elena hadn't wanted to at first. It was yet another place she didn't belong. However, Jenna insisted, and Elena didn't have anywhere else to go, so she agreed.

Elena's mind still felt like a mind field. She was still having flashes. Some of the flashes were from when she was a child and some were from Stefan or Damon compelling her. She could remember Stefan compelling her into his bed, because even though she was compelled to love him, she still had enough control to try to resist sleeping with him. That was until Stefan compelled her to do so.

Elena shuddered at the memory. It had been a devastating memory for her. Even though she knew that Stefan had raped her, it was still twice as devasting to remember the event itself. She felt so disgusting when she thought about it. Deep down, she knew it wasn't her fault, but she couldn't help but think that she should've tried harder to fight him off.

Elena also had memories of Stefan instructing her on how to act. He'd compelled her to be kind and forgiving. He compelled her to put everyone else before herself. He rewrote her entire personality. Well, she believed he did anyway. The truth was that she didn't know what her personality was. That had been stripped away from her. The only thing she knew that was truly her was her desire to hurt Stefan. She hated him so much and she wanted to make him suffer. She would make him suffer. She didn't care if it took an eternity. She was going to hurt him.

Elena soon heard a knock at the door. She got up and went and opened the door. Caroline was there waiting. "Hi."

"Hey. Jeremy told me you were up here," Caroline said. She hadn't seen Elena since Damon's death. She wanted to see her, but it was just too painful at the time. She and Bonnie both needed a little time to grieve their friend. Two weeks was hardly enough time to grieve, but it was at least at the point where she could be around the girl she still loved like a friend.

"Yeah. I'd invite you in, but I'm not sure I even have that ability. This technically isn't my property," Elena said. Although, she had been able to invite Stefan in. Unless it hadn't actually been his first time there and someone else had invited him in. She didn't know. She didn't know anything for sure anymore.

"It's okay. Jeremy gave me permission to enter when I told him I was coming up here," Caroline said before stepping through.

Elena closed the door behind her.

"I'm sorry I haven't been by to see you until now," Caroline said.

"Caroline, you don't have to apologize. You don't owe me anything. I'm not really your friend. I was just thrust into her life. I was compelled to replace her," Elena said sadly. She loved Caroline like a friend, and she believed that was real. If it weren't, those feelings would've disappeared the moment the compulsions wore off, like her 'love' for Stefan had.

"You are my friend. You're not the friend I thought you were, but you're still my friend. What happened wasn't your fault," Caroline said. She had Bonnie had spoken at length about this over the last couple of weeks. They had had to stay away from Elena because they had to let the reality of their friend's death sink in. They had to deal with it, and it wouldn't be fair to do that around Elena, but they still loved her. What happened with her and Elena Gilbert wasn't her fault. Stefan, Katherine, and Damon were to blame.

"No, but it doesn't change the fact that I took her life," Elena said before going over to the couch and sitting back down.

Caroline joined her on the couch. She decided to change the subject for both their sakes. "The full moon is soon. What are you going to do?"

"Tyler offered to let me ride it out with him. We'll both be chained up so that we don't accidentally hurt someone. I think I can help him too. Klaus told me that not fighting it makes it easier, and that worked for me last time," Elena explained.

"I know that you've had a lot to deal with, but have you thought about Klaus at all? About him being your father?" Caroline asked.

"I've actually gone out of my way not to think about it. The flashes help with that. It's hard to focus on one thing too long given how chaotic my mind is," Elena said.

"I get it. I don't know how I'd handle it if I found out my father was someone like that, someone who wanted to kill me," Caroline said.

"Klaus didn't want me dead. He wanted to sacrifice a doppelganger," Elena said. That by no means made it okay, but there was a difference. He didn't want her dead personally. "He wouldn't have done it if he'd known the truth about me."

"You seem certain of that," Caroline commented.

"I am. Klaus loved me. It's probably the only thing I'm certain of. Most of the flashes I've had from when I was a kid are of him, and he's nothing but loving and attentive. He loved me," Elena said.

"Elena, are you sure you're not reading too much into it. I just don't want you to get hurt," Caroline said. She didn't want her friend to have unrealistic expectations of this man. She certainly didn't blame Elena for wanting to see something good in her own father, but she also didn't want her to be disappointed.

"I'm not naïve, Caroline. I know who Klaus is. He had Isobel kill herself right in front of me. He slaughtered Katherine's family. I'm just saying that he wasn't like that with me. He loved me, and I think that's the part that is so hard for me to handle. Because it was taken from me. I was loved, not just by Klaus, but by his family, my family. Katherine and Stefan stole that from me," Elena said with a fair amount of anguish in her voice.

Caroline shut her eyes sadly. She felt so bad for Elena. She'd lost everything. The rest of them had lost a friend or a family member, and it was awful, but Elena, the Elena that was right in front of her, had literally lost everything she knew. She had to find a way to start her life all over again. She didn't even know her name. "I'm so sorry. Have you tried to contact Elijah?"

Elena shook her head. "Elijah always contacted me. I don't think I'm ready to face him or Klaus anyway. I don't even know what I'd say. I don't know what to do."

Caroline put an arm around her. She didn't say anything though. She wanted to tell her friend that it would all be okay, but she didn't know that it would be. She didn't know if something like this could ever be made okay. So instead, she just sat with Elena and hoped that was enough.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Elijah sat in the hotel room he shared with his brother with a drink in his hand. This wasn't how he expected things to go. As soon as he caught up with his brother after the failed sacrifice, he convinced him to leave town with him to look for some other way to break the curse. There was no other way, to Elijah's knowledge, but he wanted to get Niklaus out of Mystic Falls. He worried that his brother would take revenge on Elena's family if he didn't. Elijah didn't like deserting Elena like that, but it was the best thing he could do for her.

Klaus burst through the door with a scowl on his face. "Another dead end! This witch just repeated what the last three said. The doppelganger is the key."

"You may just have to wait for the next doppelganger," Elijah said.

"I am not waiting another five hundred years, Elijah! I wouldn't even have to if she hadn't daggered you. Tell me, brother, did you know that that would trigger her curse? Perhaps you intended that," Klaus said suspiciously.

Elijah rolled his eyes at his brother. "I didn't even know she had the werewolf gene. Besides, I already told you I wanted the ritual to happen. I intended to kill you."

Klaus glared at him. Under normal circumstances, he would've daggered his brother for that betrayal, but there was a chance he might need him if he found another way to break his curse. Elijah would be much less agreeable if he daggered him. "Well, that business is behind us. You know now that are siblings are perfectly fine, and I promised to reunite you once my curse is broken."

"Tell me something, Niklaus. What do you think will happen when you break the curse? What will you do then?" Elijah asked.

Klaus smirked. "Nothing. I'll have everything I want then."

"No, you won't. You can break your curse and make a thousand hybrids just like you, but you will never be satisfied," Elijah said. The truth was his brother was satisfied once. For six glorious years, he had everything he could ever want. He didn't even care about breaking the curse anymore. However, when it all came to an end, Niklaus became more obsessed than ever. "Nothing is ever going to take your pain away, Niklaus."

"Don't! Do not speak another word!" Klaus snarled.

Normally, Elijah would heed that warning. He had respected Niklaus' wishes not to speak of his child for almost a century, but it didn't do him any good, and Elijah was tired of pretending that it never happened. "You can't hide from it any longer, Niklaus. It's never going to go away. We lost her, and then we lost Marcellus."

"Shut up!"

"Sadie," Elijah spoke in a soft tone. It was a name he hadn't been allowed to speak in front of his brother for a long time.

Klaus pounced and shoved his brother against the way. "I said shut up! Unless you want a dagger in your heart."

Elijah shoved his brother off of him and watched him fall to the floor. "No. I am tired of burying it. I loved that child too. I loved her as though she was my own! I helped raise her. I know my pain is nothing compared to yours, but I grieve too. It's not fair to her for you to try to forget her."

"I can never forget," Klaus said before pulling himself up off the ground and storming out of the room.