Elena walked into the Grill later that night. She was there to meet Caroline and Bonnie for dinner. She found them at a table by the bar and headed towards them. "Hey, guys.

Caroline and Bonnie looked towards their friend as she approached. "Hey. How did it go?"

Elena took a seat between her two friends. "Good, for the most part. Sage and Finn are really understanding. They're taking things at my pace. Elijah annoyed me a little. He wouldn't let me pay him back for the damage I caused here the other day," she said with a bit of pout.

Caroline chuckled. "Rebekah did warn you."

"I did get to throw Klaus into a wall though. It was unintentional, but definitely satisfying," Elena said.

Bonnie laughed. "I would've paid to see that. He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"No. In fact, the whole encounter was strange. Klaus didn't act like Klaus. He was actually kind, which kind of pissed me off. He actually apologized to me, which just made me more mad," Elena said.

"You should still be careful. Klaus is dangerous," Bonnie said.

"I don't think he is to me anymore, which means he won't be to anyone that I care about. This is a lot of good that came out of this. You guys will all be safe. Jeremy can come home if he wants," Elena said.

"Have you told him?" Caroline asked.

Elena shook her head. "Not yet. I'm still processing it myself. Plus, this isn't something you tell over the phone. I want to talk to him in person."

"He's going to understand. Jeremy loves you. It won't matter who your parents are," Bonnie said.

"Thanks. I'm really grateful to both of you for being so supportive and not trying to pressure me into just getting the Mikaelsons' out of my life," Elena said.

"Not everybody is like Damon. You should still be careful, but this is your life to manage," Bonnie said.

"Thank you for saying that. I haven't always felt like everyone has understood that," Elena said.

Bonnie cringed. She could see why her friend would say that. There were times when she hadn't respected her choices. "I'm sorry for that. I know there have been times when I've acted to protect you without consulting you. I've only ever wanted to protect you."

"I know, but that's not your job. I get why you did it, but I need you to trust me to make my own decisions, whether you think they're right or not," Elena said.

Bonnie nodded. "I promise. I know I'd be mad if anyone made decisions about my life without me. I think it was just that with all the supernatural crap in this time, I felt the need to protect you because you were one of the few of us that was human, and you seemed to be the target most of the time."

"Same," Caroline said.

"Well, it seems that's not the case anymore," Elena said.

"Do you think the sacrifice still would've killed you permanently if Bonnie hadn't used that spell?" Caroline wondered.

"Not sure. It's an interesting theory, but not one that I'm anxious to prove," Elena said.

"Yeah, please don't," Caroline said.

"So, what are they like? Sage and Finn?" Bonnie asked. Finn was one of the Mikaelsons she hadn't met. She wondered if he was like his other siblings.

"Well, I don't know them too well yet, but their very protective so far. Finn seems to be put out by the idea of me dating," Elena said with a smile.

Caroline laughed. "So, he's like a regular dad."

"Yeah, except that he could literally kill my dates. If I'd grown up with him, I'm fairly certain Stefan would've died the day I met him, maybe Matt too. Damon would definitely be dead. He already wants to kill him.

Caroline snorted. "Damon has that effect on people."

Soon, Matt came over and took their order. Once was gone, the three girls just chatted for a while as they waited for their food. About ten minutes into the wait, Elena heard familiar voices that belonged to Sage and Finn.

"I don't see why we had to come here. We have perfectly suitable food at home," Finn said as they sat down at a table.

"Because it's date night. I haven't had a real date in nine hundred years," Sage said.

"That's hardly my fault. Take it out on Niklaus," Finn said.

Elena chuckled as she listened to them. Actually, it was amazing that she could hear them. They were several tables away. She wondered if she was gaining vampire hearing.

Sage turned to see her daughter looking at them a few tables away and waved to her,

Finn noticed her as well. "Elena's here. Should we ask her to join us?"

"No, leave her be. She's with her friends and we're on a date," Finn said.

Elena waved and smiled back before turning back to her friends.

Bonnie looked to where her friend had been looking a second ago and noticed a couple sitting together. "Is that them?"

"Yeah. That's Sage and Finn. They're on a date."

Caroline looked as well and smiled. "Aw, that's cute. Old people trying to be romantic."

Elena laughed as she watched Finn turn to them with an offended look on his face. "Caroline, given that you're the resident vampire in our group, I shouldn't have to tell you that they can hear you."

Caroline turned back and blushed. "Oops."

Bonnie laughed at her friend's expense. "Caroline, never change."

Soon, Elena noticed as more familiar faces entered the restaurant. She groaned as she saw who it was. "Great. This should go well."

Bonnie and Caroline both turned to see that the Salvatores had come in. They turned back to Elena. "Just ignore them. Maybe they'll just go away," Caroline said.

Elena laughed. "Have you met them recently?"

Damon's eyes zeroed in on Elena and he made his way over. Stefan was behind him. "Well, what a surprise."

"Damon, get lost. We're having a girl's night. You two aren't invited," Caroline said.

Damon ignored her and kept his focus on Elena. "We need to talk."

Elena sighed. "I have nothing to say to you. I'm starting to think you're stalking me. Can I go nowhere without you popping up?"

"Well, I didn't pop up when you made your trip to the Mikaelsons' alone. How stupid are you, Elena."

Elena stared at him in disbelief. "Oh my God. You are stalking me! You followed me to the mansion? Do you know how creepy that is?"

"Elena, we're just looking out for you. Going over there by yourself wasn't smart," Stefan said.

"Speaking of things that aren't smart, I think you two are about to get a lesson in that," Caroline said as she looked behind Damon to see Elena's parents coming right towards them. They didn't look happy. Finn looked like a predator zeroing in on his pray.

Finn put a hand on the backs of both their necks, and he wasn't gentle. He'd started paying attention as soon as he saw them approach his daughter and heard their names. Sage had kept him from going over right away, not wanting to cause a scene if the altercation ended peacefully, however, the moment he found out the older one was following Elena and then called her stupid. It was over. Sage didn't even try to stop him anymore. "Excuse me. Did you two just call my daughter stupid."

Elena smiled slightly. "Stefan, Damon, let me introduce you to Finn, my father."

Stefan and Damon both groaned in pain at the pressure on their necks. They tried to get away from the vampire holding them, but his grip was unmovable.

Finn turned to the dark-haired vampire in his grasp. "You're Damon, right? You were told in no uncertain terms to stay away from my daughter, and now I find that you've been following her."

"He doesn't listen well," Sage said as she glared at Damon.

"She's not your daughter," Damon said through gritted teeth. He then grunted quietly as the pain in his neck increased.

"He also has a problem facing reality. Honestly, I'm not sure what his deal is. I should be the one in denial," Elena said.

"His deal is that there are now six more powerful individuals who aren't going to let him get away with his crap with you," Caroline said.

"Make it seven. I've kind of had enough too," Elena said. Before, he was just annoying her. Now she found out he was following her.

"Listen up, boy. I don't care what you believe. Elena is my daughter, and I won't allow her to be mistreated. By all accounts, you should already be dead, and nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see it happen now," Finn told Damon in a cool tone.

"Finn," Elena started.

"But Elena has asked me not to, and I will respect that. However, you will stay away from her. You both will. If I find out either of you have been following her again, you won't live long enough to regret the consequences. Now, leave," Finn said before releasing them.

"This is the last time you'll be told, Damon," Sage warned.

Damon glared at them both before walking away. Stefan seemed a bit hesitant, but he followed his brother.

Sage turned to her daughter. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. They didn't do any damage. They just irritated me," Elena said.

"Words can be just as damaging as fists, honey. Don't let anyone get away with calling you stupid. You're not," Sage said.

"Thanks. Uh, these are my friends, Bonnie and Caroline. Guys, this is Sage and Finn," Elena told them.

"It's nice to meet both of you," Sage said as she shook both their hands.

"You guys too," Caroline said as she shook Finn's hand next. "The way you handled Damon was awesome, by the way."

"Not bad for an old guy, huh?" Finn asked with a smirk.

Bonnie and Elena both snickered at their friend's expense.

Caroline blushed. "Sorry about that. Sometimes I speak without thinking."

"Well, to be fair, he is old. He's been alive for an entire millennium," Sage said with a smirk.

Finn scowled at Sage. "You too?"

Sage ignored him and turned to her daughter. "We'll let you guys get back to your night. Elena, we'll see you tomorrow."

Elena smiled and waved as they headed back to their table.