Addendum

by SergeantPixie

When Dean shows up to ask Sam to help him find their father, he isn't alone. (aka Elena in season one of Supernatural) SLOW BURN

22. Saviors & Saints, Devils & Heathens

AN: Hello again! We are only one chapter away from the third and final Elena-centric chapter! It's a bit of a monster, length-wise, so hopefully I'm done editing next week but I might need another week, we'll see! (The outtake is even longer...)

So just to be clear, I am only using TVD vampire mythology, none of SPN's with one exception: dead man's blood making vampires sick. Mostly for my own amusement.

Also shout out to Eennio! I cannot believe how long you've stuck around! I am gobsmacked that I've been writing this for basically all of your teens, that really put things into perspective! It makes me so happy you're still here for the finale.

Without further ado: Enjoy!

Addendum

(n.)

A thing to be added; an addition.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Dead Man's Blood

aka

Saviors & Saints, Devils & Heathens Alike

Brooklyn, New York: July 2018

There's an entrance to the subway in the basement

Despite Jeremy's assurance to the existence of the subway entrance in Port Authority, after fifteen minutes of searching, Sam isn't convinced. He knows once he gets there it will be simple.

You just need the Q train – it will take you straight to Prospect Park.

Sure, straight to Prospect Park sounds great right now, but in the meantime, Sam has to find his way to the basement of a building that is starting to feel more and more like a maze he's never going to escape.

"Ah shit, where's the subway entrance?" he finally says loudly out of sheer desperation. All of his polite excuse-mes have been thoroughly ignored and he just cannot do this anymore.

"One more floor down, gorgeous," someone calls as they rush past him in the opposite direction.

"Thank you," Sam calls after the hurrying man.

The man waves his hand at him without looking back, as if he wanted to say, "Don't worry about it!" but he just doesn't have the time.

Turning back, he finally spots the staircase tucked into a corner. Sighing, he shoves his phone down into his jeans, putting his hands in his jacket pockets, wrapping one around his wallet and the other around the paperback he picked up for the bus ride into the city.

He's tempted to extract his phone again to look at Jeremy's directions one more time but resists the urge in favor of figuring out how to get into the subway now that he's found the entrance. He knows that he doesn't really need the directions again until he gets to Brooklyn, right now he just needs to get into the subway and find the Q train. There is a dazzling array of machinery in front of him and he's got no clue what any of them do. He lived in Palo Alto for fuck's sake.

After what feels like an eternity later he's made it to the platform. The crackling voice over the PA informs him that the Q train just left the station but there'll be another in ten minutes. He settles back on his heels to wait, checking his phone one more time.

I'm in downtown Brooklyn, on Bridge Street

After that is a long string of directions on and off subway platforms and entrances to finally get Sam close enough to be able to walk the rest of the way to Jeremy's apartment.

By the time he's read his way through Jeremy's directions the Q train is there, he gets on and finds a seat in a corner, pulling out the paperback he picked up on his way to the bus stop that morning.

He only gets a couple pages in before his phone alerts him to some new messages. There are two of them, both from Sarah.

I had a great time last night

and the night before

He's glad Elena and Dean aren't there to see the slightly dazed and stupid look on his face at the memories her messages bring to mind.

He doesn't have enough cell service to reply just yet, so he puts his phone back in his pocket, intending to reply once he's above ground in Brooklyn. He opens his book again, quickly getting lost in the lush gothic novel he'd bought specifically because he thinks Elena will like it. He wiles away the rest of the subway ride reading about a young art teacher's love for a girl with a mysterious double he may or may not have wrongfully condemned to the madhouse.

When he reaches Brooklyn he quickly replies to Sarah before following Jeremy's next set of directions.

A few subway stops later and he emerges a few blocks away, close enough to walk by his estimate. Jeremy lives in downtown Brooklyn, in what Sam realizes is a much more affluent neighborhood than he expected for a first-year art student.

He's dimly aware that the Gilberts aren't poor – Dean has made a few vague jokes about their lake house and Elena's dad's sports car – but he's either under-estimated exactly how well off the Gilberts are or there's another source of income he's unaware of. He's not dumb, he's seen the sleek black credit card in Elena's wallet, engraved with her name – her real name. He's just suddenly wondering who pays the bill every month and if maybe their last name happens to be Mikaelson.

He crosses the street to Jeremy's building, a renovated warehouse only a block away from the major hub of the city.

He doesn't want to think of Elena this way, but as he looks at the intercom listing for Jeremy's building and realizes he has an entire floor to himself, he starts to draw comparisons between the Gilbert siblings and his friends from school. And don't get him wrong, he likes his school friends, but some of them were just a bit oblivious to the ways of the world.

He hates himself for it, just a bit, after all, Elena and Jeremy are orphans. They've been through hell, and it doesn't feel fair, but is Elena slumming it with them in their shitty motel rooms and crappy diners? Is this what she is used to? An entire floor of a warehouse apartment building in one of the most expensive cities in the country? After all, she'd been perfectly comfortable in Elijah Mikaelson's penthouse hotel suite. On the other hand, she never looks uncomfortable in the shitty motel rooms they hide out in.

Banishing the resentful thoughts in his head, he rings the intercom.

"Sam?" A tinny voice asks.

"Yeah, it's Sam, Jeremy," he confirms.

"Cool, hang on."

There's a buzzing sound, so Sam grabs the door and pulls. He comforts himself with the fact that there isn't a doorman, just a tidy little mailbox area, an elevator, and two doors, one with a number 1 on it and one with a "stairs" sign on it.

Jeremy is on the third floor – third of seven – so Sam takes the stairs, wondering how this is going to work with the whole one apartment per floor thing. It's answered pretty quickly, there's a number two on the door when he gets to the second floor, so when he gets to floor three he knocks on the door.

Jeremy opens the door pretty quickly. "Hey man, nice to finally meet you," he says, holding out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, too," Sam replies, reaching out to shake his hand. "Elena talks about you all the time."

Jeremy smiles appreciatively, stepping back to wordlessly invite him in.

Sam steps through the threshold, appreciating for the first time exactly what it means that Elena and Jeremy are Gilberts, notorious vampire hunters. Jeremy hadn't even invited him into the building verbally.

Once he's inside, Jeremy says, "Welcome, man."

"Thanks, great apartment," Sam says, feeling kind of dazed. It's open concept with a giant gourmet kitchen and a lofted bedroom area.

Over by the windows is where Jeremy has set up his art studio. One wall is taken up with racks for him to store his finished paintings. There are folded-up easels beside it, and one open with a half-finished painting on it and a stool before it. He's tacked up big white sheets on the other wall to give him an empty background for people to pose in front of. There's a gorgeous mustard colored antique divan in front of it currently.

"Do you use a lot of live models?" Sam asks, momentarily distracted.

"Yeah, I've really been into the human body lately," Jeremy says.

"Yeah he has!" Dean calls out.

Elena snorts. "Gross."

They're over in what appears to be the living room area, Elena curled up in a comfy leather armchair with a book in front of her and Dean on the matching couch with a gaming controller in his hand. There's a controller on the seat next to him, making it clear where Jeremy was sitting when Sam arrived.

Jeremy laughs at Dean's comment while Sam shakes his head as they make their way to them.

"Hey Sammy," Dean says with a grin.

"You make it here all right?" Elena asks.

"Hey guys, yeah, Jeremy's instructions were pretty clear," Sam says.

"We brought your bags in," Elena adds, gesturing over to the corner where Sam's backpack and duffle are. They look undisturbed so Sam leaves it alone for now.

Noticing the way Sam glances around, Elena continues. "Jeremy has these Japanese futons that we usually sleep on, they're surprisingly comfortable, but you can sleep on the couch if you want."

Jeremy sits down beside Dean, so Sam takes the armchair opposite Elena.

Sam shakes his head. "Uh, no, the futon sounds really interesting."

"Where do you find people to pose for you?" Sam asks, returning to his and Jeremy's previous conversation.

"Uh, kind of all over? Classmates from school, my upstairs neighbor works on Broadway so sometimes she passes my name along to actors who might be interested in making some extra cash posing. It's not hard to find people in New York who don't mind being stared at for hours on end," Jeremy says from his seat beside Dean.

"Cool," Sam replies. "Elena's showed me some of your work, I'd love to see more while I'm here," he adds.

Elena gives him a knowing look.

Jeremy shrugs. "Sure."

After Jeremy and Dean go back to playing Grand Theft Auto, Sam pulls out his book. Elena cocks her head to the side, silently asking what he's reading.

Sam shows her the cover.

Elena grins. "The Woman in White? I want to read it when you're done."

Sam nods, feeling pleased with his choice. "What about you?"

She holds up the cover for him to see. It's Wuthering Heights and if he's not mistaken, it's a first edition, or at least very, very old and very, very valuable.

Instead of questioning her about its worth, he asks, "Is this the first time you've read it?"

She shakes her head. "Not even close," she replies. "But Jeremy had it in his collection." She points to the bookshelves below the lofted bedroom. There's a comfy chair and a beautiful collection of books that Sam is itching to check out.

"Do you need anything to eat or drink?" Elena asks since Jeremy has quickly been reabsorbed in their game and forgotten all about being a good host.

After Sam shakes his head Elena points out the bathroom and tells him to get whatever he wants out of the fridge, then returns to her reading.

For a moment, Sam wonders why Elena is over here, where the sound of Dean and Jeremy's video game is so much louder. But then he watches Elena stretch out her legs, her chair is just close enough for her to rest her bare feet on Dean's knee, and suddenly Sam isn't wondering why at all. He's shaking his head in amusement and watching the knowing smile grow on Jeremy's face as he glances between their siblings.

Sam enfolds himself back into his novel, content to wile away his time in the English moors. Occasionally he glances up, watching Dean and Jeremy play and banter, watching Elena read her book. When Jeremy goes to the bathroom, Sam watches as Dean wraps his hand around one of Elena's ankles, rubbing it absentmindedly. When Jeremy comes back he brings drinks for everyone which makes Elena beam in approval. And it's nice, it's normal, it's nothing like Sam ever imagined having with his brother. Just spending time together, no big agenda or job to face down.

When he wanders over to Jeremy's book collection, Elena follows, pointing out titles she thinks he'll like and the ones she loves. It's an eclectic mix of paperbacks so well loved the pages are curling, with the covers taped together and gorgeous, expensive leatherbound first editions that Sam is almost too afraid to touch.

Later, over pizza, Dean, Elena, and Jeremy regale Sam with the story of how last summer, barely a week after Jeremy moved in, the three of them found the mustard divan in an uptown antique auction. They were invited by Jeremy's Broadway neighbor who lives on 4, but the auction house would only deliver in Manhattan. So, the four of them carried the divan to the subway to bring it back to Brooklyn themselves.

Jeremy brings him upstairs to his lofted bedroom area to show him the series of photographs depicting the adventure. There's a particularly sweet selfie Dean took of himself and Elena on the divan on the subway. His arm is slung over her shoulders, the two of them cheek to cheek with matching grins. There's also fantastic shot Jeremy's decidedly middle-aged neighbor sprawled across the divan, imitating the Grand Odalisque painting.

"Oh, that's classic!" Sam says with a laugh as they return to the kitchen.

"Yeah, Carol is the coolest," Jeremy says with true affection. "She kinda took me under her wing when she realized I was gonna be living here alone."

"She's definitely cooler than me," Dean agrees.

Elena beams, nodding, clearly pleased that the older woman has taken her brother under her wing.

---

Elena has plans with an old friend from school and Jeremy is at work at the art gallery, so Dean and Sam are left to their own devices and Sam can finally tell Dean what he's discovered about Elena's mysterious friends – and the fact that the research for most of the website was provided by a woman who went missing seven years ago.

"We just worked a case with an Original vampire?" Dean asks in disbelief.

Sam nods. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure we did."

"That's…" Dean trails off, looking dazed.

"Insane," Sam finishes for him.

Dean nods in agreement.

"And he's brothers with the guy from Chicago?" Dean checks.

"Yup," Sam confirms. "The one and only Klaus."

"This is just insane," his brother replies, having a hard time wrapping his head around it.

"I don't even know which part is crazier," Sam says. "The fact that we had no idea who they were, or the fact that Elena's involved with them in the first place."

And Sam has a front row seat to the exact moment that his brother realizes Klaus has more than friendly feelings for the girl of his dreams.

"Fuck," Dean exclaims.

"Yeah," Sam agrees.

"Wait, Klaus has a kid?!" Dean realizes suddenly.

"Holy shit," Sam replies, the fact hitting him hard. "Vampires can't have kids, can they?"

"I didn't think so but maybe there are different rules for Originals?" is Dean's reply.

"I guess," Sam says, still stunned.

"So, what does the doppelganger have to do with Original vampires?" Dean asks after a long moment of stunned silence.

Sam shakes his head. "I dunno, I mean, if we take the Guardian's Archive at their word, then Elena's been sacrificed to break the so-called curse of the sun and the moon," he says, laying out the facts. "But we know it has nothing to do with werewolves or vampires being free of the moon or the sun, so what actually happened at that sacrifice?"

"Maybe it failed?" Dean suggests. "I mean, Elena's still alive so something clearly went wrong."

Sam shakes his head. "I don't know, if she's still alive wouldn't they have tried again?" he points out. "It didn't really seem like Klaus or Elijah were keen on using her for a blood sacrifice anytime soon."

Dean considers this. "Maybe they weren't involved in trying to sacrifice her?" he suggests finally. "Maybe they don't want the sacrifice to happen, and they stopped it the first time around."

"Yeah, maybe," Sam agrees, confused as ever.

"But that doesn't explain why Elena has Klaus' teeth marks in her neck," Dean reminds both Sam and himself.

"Right," Sam agrees, shaking his head. "She said they were from the sacrifice?"

Dean considers the question before shaking his own head. "I really don't remember," he confesses. "He definitely gave them to her, and there's gotta be a reason that his teeth are the only clear ones out of the vampire bites she's had."

"We're missing too much to make any kinda real guess here," Sam concludes.

He takes a deep breathe, knowing Dean might not agree to his suggestion. "The moderator of the Guardian's Archive," he starts, before hastily backtracking. "You know, the website with all of the Mystic Falls stuff."

Dean nods, wondering where Sam is heading with this.

"Well, I think I should ask him about all of this," Sam suggests, speaking slowly. "I think I should tell him about Elena."

Dean is immediately against this.

"Absolutely not," he says flatly.

"No, Dean, hear me out," Sam interrupts before Dean can get any more out.

Dean stops, then gestures for Sam to continue.

"We can't ask anyone we know in real life," Sam points out. "If any of them know about this, then they know what Elena really is, and they'll tell Dad," he explains logically. "And if they don't, they still might tell Dad," he adds hastily.

"So we're supposed to trust a stranger on the internet," Dean says, voice full of skepticism. "I'm pretty sure there are a dozen school campaigns telling us exactly why that's a bad idea."

Sam shakes his head. "What other choice do we have?" he asks. "Elena is involved with the original vampires, she might've been sacrificed by them at some point, I think we need to take whatever help we can get."

Dean frowns, contemplating Sam's appeal.

"You don't mention her name," he says finally.

"Of course," Sam agrees quickly, relieved that Dean's approved.

"And you definitely don't hint at the idea that she might be that doppelganger from the sun and the moon curse," Dean tacks on hastily. "You have no idea who might be hanging out in that chat room."

"I can send an email directly to the moderator," Sam assures him. "But I'll leave out the sun and moon stuff. Just that we know a doppelganger who might've been sacrificed and somehow lived."

Dean nods his agreement, feeling deeply uneasy. This feels far too much like betraying Elena's confidence for his own good, but he wants to know what's going on even more than Sam does.

---

Lancaster, Pennsylvania: One Week Later

They spent a week in Brooklyn with Jeremy, only taking off after he threw a party and invited a few of his school friends who are still in town to meet his sister and belatedly celebrate her 21st birthday.

Now they're in a little hipster café in Lancaster, Dean and Elena reading through a pile of newspapers, looking for a new case while Sam scours the internet.

Dean closes his paper. "Well, not a decent lead in all of Pennsylvania. What've you got?"

Elena shakes her head.

"Well, I've been scanning Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota," Sam says. "Here. A woman in Iowa fell 10,000 feet from an airplane and survived."

Dean shakes his head. "Sounds more like 'That's Incredible' than, uh, Twilight Zone."

Sam nods in agreement. "Yeah."

"Hey, you know we could just head back the way we came," Dean suggests. "New York. Upstate. We could drop by and see Sarah again. Huh?Cool chick man, smokin'. You two seemed pretty friendly. What do you say?"

"You just wanna go back to Brooklyn and hang out with Jeremy," Sam says, dodging the insinuations.

"Well duh," Elena says. "It's not like I get to see my brother every day," she says. "And he's on break from school…"

Sam winces. Jeremy hadn't exactly been thrilled at their leaving. In fact, he wanted to come with them. Elena had made it clear that that was not an option for him, so the siblings had parted on less than stellar terms.

Sam wholeheartedly agrees with Elena, and Dean is obviously pained on Jeremy's behalf. Not necessarily because he wants Jeremy to come along with them, more because he sympathizes with the younger man's bitterness at being separated from his only family.

"I dunno, it's a little early to go back, Jeremy might get the wrong idea," Sam finally says.

Reluctantly the other two nod in agreement.

"And Sarah?" Elena asks pointedly.

"Maybe someday," Sam says. "But in the meantime, we got a lot of work to do, and we all know that."

"Yeah, all right," Dean concedes. "What else you got?"

"Ahh, man in Colorado, local man named Daniel Elkins, was found mauled in his home," Sam says, scanning his computer screen.

"Elkins? I know that name." Dean says.

Elena nods in agreement. "It sounds really familiar."

Sam shakes his head. "Doesn't ring a bell."

"Elkins...Elkins...Elkins," Dean repeats, trying to place the name. He pulls out their dad's journal and starts leafing throw it.

"Sounds like the police don't know what to think," Sam continues to pull details from the article. "At first they said it was some sort of bear attack and now, they've found some signs of robbery."

"Mm-hmm." Dean holds out the journal to Sam. "There, check it out."

In John's tidy scrawl it reads, D. Elkins with a number beside it.

"You think it's the same Elkins?" Sam asks.

"It's a Colorado area code," Elena says. "That's the same area code as our family friends' there," she says to Dean more than Sam. "The ones Jeremy stayed with in Denver."

"Could they know Elkins?" Sam asks.

Elena shakes her head. "No, no, they're friends of my mom's side originally."

Sam just looks at her.

"That means they're normal," she says. "My mom's family don't really have anything to do with all of this. They're just normal people." She hesitates before continuing. "But I think Elkins was a friend of my dad's," she says.

"Yeah?" Dean asks.

She nods her head. "I kind of remember meeting a Mr. Elkins when I was a kid. He went into my dad's office with him, and they stayed there a long time. He wouldn't stay for dinner."

"Your mom couldn't have liked that," Dean says.

Elena shakes her head. "She didn't, that's why I remember."

"He offended her southern sensibilities," Sam guesses.

Elena shrugs. "She was gently raised. And I don't think she liked the idea of a man being in her house without her getting a feel for him."

"What do you remember about him?" Sam asks.

Elena shakes her head. "Not much. He said hello when he came in, but he mostly holed up with my dad in his office. He said goodbye when he left, that's it."

"Hmmm." Sam isn't sure if he's comfortable with the fact that a friend of Elena's vampire hunter father might be dead.

"It might not be the same guy," Elena says with a look on her face like her heart is sinking.

"Maybe," Sam says, glancing at Dean. "But…"

"It probably is," Dean continues for him.

"So, what does it mean?" Elena asks, but none of them have an answer.

---

While Elena is in the restroom, Sam and Dean discuss Sam's latest conversation with the moderator of the Guardian's Archive.

"So what did he say?" Dean asks.

Sam hesitates. "The gist of it?"

Dean nods.

"That a doppelganger – Elena will be in danger as long as there are vampires," he says.

Dean stares at him. "Well fuck," he replies succinctly. "As long as there are any vampires?" he checks.

"That's what he said," Sam confirms.

"Not werewolves?" Dean checks.

Sam shakes his head. "He didn't say anything about werewolves, just vampires."

"How are we supposed to get rid of all vampires?" is Dean's next question.

"He said there was a way," Sam continues. "But he wouldn't tell me what. Said it had to do with the Originals, but he wasn't sure if he could trust me."

"But we're the ones who know the doppelganger, he's just some internet weirdo."

"Some internet weirdo who claims to know how to eradicate vampires from this Earth," Sam points out.

Dean and Sam stare at each other for a long moment.

"That's insane," Dean says finally. "That sounds insane. How do you hunt an entire species to extinction?"

"I have no idea." Sam pauses. "That would take years – decades, even."

"Elena could die of old age before that happens," Dean points out.

"Or any time before then," Sam reminds him. A new thought occurs to him. "Do you think that's why she has so many bitemarks on her throat?" he asks.

Dean stares back at him.

"Like, the throat, that's definitely a killing bite," Sam points out. "How many of them were…how many intended it to be the fatal bite?"

Dean shakes his head. "Stop," he orders, eyes closed, jaw clenched.

"Sorry," Sam says quietly. It's not a pleasant thought to him either. Elena has had those scars for as long as she'd known his family. She was a teenage girl when she got them. It's a horrifying thought, an entire species of monsters trying to murder one teenage girl for the promise of freedom – or for some completely mysterious reason that has yet to be uncovered.

---

Manning, Colorado

Elkins lives in the mountains, high enough that there's still snow on the ground even in July. It doesn't take Sam very long to pick the lock and when the front door to the cottage swings open they find an eerily peaceful scene inside.

Dean and Elena explore the small cottage, Sam kneeling down at the threshold.

"Looks like the maid came today," Dean says wryly. The cabin is immaculate.

"Hey, there's salt over here," Sam says. "Right beside the door."

"You mean protection against demon salt?" Elena asks.

"Or 'oops I spilled the popcorn' salt?" Dean adds as he searches Elkins' desk. The cabin is so small that they barely need to raise their voices to be heard from separate rooms.

Sam shakes his head, despite the fact that they can't see him. "It's clearly a ring," he says. Standing up, he continues, "You think this guy Elkins was a player?"

"Definitely," Dean says.

Elena and Sam crowd in behind him to look at the journal open in front of him.

"That looks like your dad's," Elena says, sounding dismayed.

Dean nods. "Yep, except this dates back to the 70s."

"It looks like nothing even happened here," Elena says finally.

Dean and Sam nod in agreement. The cabin is so perfectly orderly it's almost eerie. In the back room they finally find signs of disturbance. There's a painting of a house by a lake sitting on the floor, and a wall safe hanging open. Inside there is an empty gun case, and nothing else.

"What does that mean?" Dean asks.

"It's like he left on his own, and just took the gun," Sam says.

There's a slight ripple in the rug. Elena kneels down and grabs the edge to yank it smooth, only to realize there is something carved into the hardwood floor.

She flips the corner of the rug over to show it.

"Come look at this," she says."

Sam and Dean come to kneel beside her.

Carved into the wood, deliberate and deep, is a series of letters and numbers.

"Look familiar?" Sam asks them.

They both nod.

"Three letters, six digits," Dean says. "The location and combination of a post office box. It's a mail drop."

"Just the way your dad does it," Elena says.

The painting catches her eye. She stands abruptly, striding over to grab it.

"Elena?" Dean asks.

She's examining the painting all over, the back, the frame, the painting itself, the artist's signature.

"Do you recognize it?" Sam asks.

"Yes I do," Elena says in a disbelieving voice.

She turns around to show it to them. "That's my family's lake house," she tells them. She points to the signature. "This was painted by S. Gilbert."

The brothers stare back at her.

"Is there an S. Gilbert in your family?" Dean finally asks.

"At least one that I know of," she says, her voice tight. "I mean, she died in the 1920s, but she was an artist too." She grimaces. "Like Jeremy."

"You're sure?" Sam asks.

Elena nods. "There are other paintings of hers, at the lake house," she looks at Dean. "In my dad's study." She shakes her head, like she's trying to deny this significance. "In the mayor's house."

"So, Elkins definitely knew your family," Sam finally says.

"But what does this mean?" Elena asks, her voice on the verge of desperation.

---

At the post office they find Elkins' P.O. box pretty quickly, to their surprise there is a tiny combination lock in place of the key. Dean quickly inputs the combo from Elkin's floor and extracts a letter.

Back in the car, Elena in the back with the painting she refused to leave behind, they examine the thin envelope.

"'J.W.'" Sam reads out loud. "You think? John Winchester?"

"I don't know. Should we open it?" Dean asks.

Just then, there is a knock at the drivers' window – Dean's window. The three of them look over, startled.

"Dad?" Dean says, incredulous.

John motions at Elena to move over, and she does quickly. He opens the back door to climb in next to her.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Sam asks frantically. "Are you all right?"

John nods. "Yeah, I'm ok," he assures them. "I read the news about Daniel; I got here as fast as I could. I saw you three at his place."

He looks at Elena. "Why did you take the painting?"

Without a word she shows him.

"Your family's lake house," he says, recognizing it instantly. He squints at the signature. "By the same Gilbert who did the painting of Wickery Bridge in your dad's study."

Dean remembers the painting with sudden clarity. He spent at least an hour staring at it while Elena and John argued over if Elena would stay in Mystic Falls or not. Elena had won that battle, but ultimately, John won the war.

"And the one of the falls in the mayor's house," Elena replies. "Samantha Gilbert, she painted them in the insane asylum, did you know that?"

John's face barely registers surprise. "She's the one who attempted her own lobotomy?"

Elena nods. "With a knitting needle."

Sam suddenly remembers Elena telling him that her family had a history with mental institutions. He shivers. That is much, much worse than he was imagining.

"Cheery topic there, you two," Dean says, reminding them of the other two's presence.

"Why didn't you come in, Dad?" Sam asks, bringing them back to the original topic.

"You know why," John says disapprovingly. "Because I had to make sure you weren't followed…" he and Elena exchange a long look. "By anyone or anything," he continues. "Nice job of covering your tracks by the way."

"Yeah, well, we learned from the best," says Dean.

Sam frowns. "Wait, you came all the way out here for this Elkins guy?"

"Yeah." John nods. "He is," he pauses, correcting himself, "He was a good man," he says simply. "He taught me a hell of a lot about hunting," he adds.

"You never mentioned him to us," Sam says, trying not to sound accusing.

John looks reluctant. "We had a…" he pauses. "We had kind of a falling out," he says evasively. "I hadn't seen him in years." He pauses again then says, "I should look at that," indicating to the letter in Dean's hand.

Dean dutifully passes it over and John opens it.

"'If you're reading this, I'm already dead…'" John starts, but then becomes absorbed in the letter.

Sam is dying to be in Elena's position, who could just shift a little to read over his shoulder, but instead stays respectfully where she is.

"That son of a bitch," John says finally.

"What is it?" Dean asks.

"He had it the whole time," John says more to himself than anyone in the car.

"Dad, what?" Sam asks more urgently.

John ignores both of their questions to ask his own. "When you searched the place, did you see a gun?" he asks. "An antique, a Colt revolver, did you see it?" His is tone urgent.

"Ah, there was an old case, but it was empty," Dean says.

"That's what was in the safe behind the painting," Elena adds. "Just the empty gun case, that's it."

"They have it," John says more to himself than the others.

"You mean whatever killed Elkins?" Dean asks.

"We gotta pick up the trail," John says, completely focused on his own train of thoughts as he exits the car to go to his own.

"Wait," Sam says, and John comes back to Dean's window. "You want us to come with you?"

"If Elkins was telling the truth, we gotta find this gun," John says.

"The gun – why?" Sam asks.

"Because it's important, that's why," John says impatiently.

"Dad, we don't even know what these things are yet," Sam argues.

"They were what Daniel Elkins killed best: Vampires," John replies.

"And that's how he knew my dad?" Elena asks.

"Yes, Elena," John says. "He didn't just know your dad, though."

She nods. "I figured, I mean, they'd have to be pretty close for Daddy to give him a family painting like that."

He shakes his head. "Not what I meant."

"What then?" she asks.

"Daniel Elkins is the man who trained Alaric Saltzman," John says grimly.

Elena's entire face goes blank. She stills so completely Sam is afraid she's turned to stone.

"What?" she finally says.

"And now he's dead," John replies.

"What does that mean?" Sam asks.

"What does Alaric have to do with this?" is Dean's question.

"Could mean nothing, could mean some very bad things," John says, not really answering either of their questions.

Elena's face is still completely blank, like she's shut down in order to wage some internal war that the other three have no part of.

---

In the motel room, Sam and Dean are passed out after taking the night shift, while Elena and John are wide awake, John's police scanner between them, covering the morning shift.

As dispatch and an officer haven an exchange about a body being found on the road, Elena and John exchange a long look.

Elena pulls her boots on as John gets up.

"Sam, Dean, let's go," John says.

Dean and Sam wake up quickly.

"We picked up a police call," he says.

"What happened?" Sam asks blearily.

"A couple called 911, found a body in the street," John explains. "Cops got there everyone was missing. It's the vampires."

"How do you know?" Sam asks.

John is impatient. "Just follow me, okay?"

"That's a pretty standard hunting technique," Elena says. "It worked on carriages too," she adds dryly.

"Well fuck," is Dean's response, and Sam can't argue.

"Let's go," John says urgently.

---

At the crime scene, John is talking to the officers while Dean and Sam wait by the cars. Elena is still in the backseat of the Impala, at John's request.

"I don't see why we couldn't have gone over with him," Sam says sullenly.

"Oh, don't tell me it's already starting," Dean replies, exasperated.

"What's starting?" Sam asks, incredulous.

"What have you got?" Dean asks their dad instead.

"It was them all right," John says. "Looks like they're heading west. We'll have to double back to get around that detour," he continues, talking about the swarm of officers behind him.

He is entirely focused on the hunt, but Sam isn't onboard just yet.

"How can you be so sure?" Sam asks boldly.

"Sam..." Dean sounds fed up already.

Sam is defensive. "I just wanna know we're going in the right direction."

"We are," John says flatly.

Elena, still in the car, but with the window open, asks the next question, much to Dean's relief. "How do you know?"

"I found this." John holds out a small object for the three of them to examine.

Dean takes it, holding it low enough for Elena to see.

"It's a…a vampire fang," he says after a minute.

"Vampires don't lose their fangs," Elena says, looking confused and deeply troubled.

"So, what happened to it?" Sam asks.

"We need to follow them to find out," John says shortly. "Any more questions?" he continues. "All right, let's get out of here, we're losing daylight." He turns to address Elena. "Elena, you're with me." He looks at his eldest son, "Hey Dean, why don't you touch up your car before you get rust? I wouldn't have given you the damn thing if I thought you were going to ruin it."

Elena glares at John as she gets out of the car. "That's not his fault," she says evenly. "He treats this car like it's his baby, but Elkins' driveway was basically one long puddle," she reminds him.

John glares back at her for a moment but doesn't argue back, and for her part Elena still follows him over to his truck, keeping her head turned away from the cop convention behind them. She slides her sunglasses on to hide her face better. Once she's secure in the front seat of John's car, she flips the sun visor down, sitting straight up, pretending to check her makeup.

"What's with that?" Dean asks as he gets into the driver's seat.

"What? Dad not arguing with Elena, it's a miracle," Sam says.

"No, that's pretty normal," Dean says with a shake of his head. "Elena, staying in the car and then making sure the cops couldn't get a good look at her. And she's not wearing any makeup right now. She's been wigging since she saw the painting in Elkins."

Sam shrugs. "It's probably just freaking her out that her dad knew him," he says. "And Alaric," he adds.

Dean shakes his head again. "I don't think so," he says softly.

"What do you mean that's normal?" Sam continues, oblivious. "Since when has Dad not argued with anyone?"

Dean shrugs, trying to put his doubt aside. "Elena's stubborn, maybe more stubborn than Dad is. He's learned to pick his battles with her."

---

"Text Elena," Sam says as he drives. "Find out what she thinks about the fang."

Dean frowns. "Dad didn't think it was that big of a deal."

"Yeah but Elena thought it was weird," Sam argues. "I wanna know why. Don't you wanna know why?"

Reluctantly, Dean gets out his phone and texts Elena.

Tell me about the fang

Why is that weird?

Elena responds nearly instantly.

Vampires don't lose their fangs

Someone removed it on purpose

This feels like a trap

Dean's stomach lurches and he's texting Elena back without a word to Sam.

A trap for who?

"Dean?" Sam asks. "What did she say?"

I don't know

I'd guess whoever would come looking for that gun

"Dean!" Sam is insistent now.

"Vampires don't lose their fangs," Dean reveals reluctantly, now feeling deeply uneasy. "Elena thinks it was removed on purpose, like it's a trap or something."

Sam thumps the steering wheel with his palms. "I knew it," he says triumphantly. "Did she tell Dad?"

"I'll ask," Dean replies shortly.

Did you tell Dad?

Elena replies immediately.

Of course

He said it's worth it

"What's worth it?" Sam asks when he relays the message.

So, Dean asks.

The colt

"So, Elena thinks this is a trap for whoever will come after the gun and Dad doesn't care?" Sam summarizes.

"I guess," Dean is noncommittal.

"Man, what the hell is Dad thinking?" Sam asks angrily. "What's so important about this gun?"

"So, it is starting," Dean says resignedly, instead of speculating about the gun.

"What?" Sam asks, genuinely lost.

"Sam, we've been looking for Dad all year," Dean says. "Now we're not with him for more than a couple of hours and there's static already?"

Sam scoffs in denial, shaking his head.

"No. Look, I'm happy he's okay, all right?" Sam says evenly. "And I'm happy that we're all working together again."

"Well good," Dean says, like that's the end of the conversation.

Sam can't resist.

"It's just the way he treats us, like we're children," he blurts out.

"Oh God," Dean says with a roll of his eyes.

Sam ignores him as he starts listing his complaints.

"He barks orders at us, Dean, he expects us to follow 'em without question. He keeps us on some crap need-to-know deal."

"He does what he does for a reason," Dean argues.

"What reason?" Sam asks.

Dean fully loses his patience at this question.

"Our job! There's no time to argue, there's no margin for error, all right? That's just the way the old man runs things."

"Yeah, well, maybe that worked when we were kids but not anymore, all right." Sam is determined. "Not after everything you and I have been through, Dean. I mean, are you telling me you're cool with just falling into line, and letting him run the whole show?"

Sam glances over at his brother.

Dean shrugs. "If that's what it takes."

"What about him just ordering Elena to ride with him, what's that about?" So yeah, Sam pivots a little.

"What do you mean?" Dean asks, trying to be patient.

"Why is he trying to keep you two apart?"

"That's a leap, Sammy," Dean says calmly. "Dad's been leaving Elena alone with me for years," he continues on before Sam can interrupt. "And did you ever consider that maybe Elena has something to tell Dad?"

This finally brings Sam up short. "Like what?" he asks, sounding much calmer.

"Like maybe something about the vampires," Dean points out. "Elena probably knows a lot of things about vampires that we don't."

"What makes you say that?" is Sam's next question.

"The Gilbert Journals, remember?" Dean's reply is pointed.

"Oh yeah," Sam says somewhat sheepishly.

They're both quiet for a long moment, and then Sam speaks again.

"So, we don't get to know even now that it's relevant?" he asks.

Dean doesn't have an answer.

"You find out anything else about the professor?" Dean asks finally. "Fleming or whatever her name is?"

Sam shakes his head, sheepish. "I got a bit distracted by what the moderator said about the vampires."

Dean nods. "Understandable, it was fucking dramatic."

"I'll look into her more later," Sam promises.

---

There is a long pause after Elena finishes filling John in on everything he's missed since he left: The shapeshifter that died trying to look like her, the shritgu who literally burst into dust trying to consume her soul, her visit to New Orleans, her time pretending to be Katherine.

John wants to focus on finding the vampires, but he's well aware that he's been neglecting Elena and her complicated life, so he tries his best to split his attention.

"What's the new deal with Klaus?" John asks, deciding to take this one question at a time.

"Visiting four times a year instead of two," she answers.

"That's it?" John asks. It's not ideal, but it could be worse.

Elena sighs. "A deadline for the whole continuing the Petrova bloodline thing," she continues reluctantly. "Or I guess, not a proper deadline," she hastens to explain as she watches John change colors. "If I don't have kids by the time I'm 25 we revisit the topic."

"More like you don't have kids by the time you're 25 and he'll be popping some hybrid babies in you himself," John says shrewdly.

Elena winces but doesn't correct him. Klaus didn't out and out say it, but it's crossed Elena's mind that he's probably thought about it.

"I don't think he's drawing Punnett squares in the margins of his notebooks," Elena says wryly. "But yeah, I'm sure it's crossed his mind."

John snorts at her clever turn of phrase. "And that's it? Visiting more often and a baby-making deadline?" John knows Elena too well.

She sighs. "And when this is over," she says carefully, unsure of his reaction to this final condition. "When the Alaric problem is solved – if it's solved," Elena corrects herself.

It's been going on for so long now, she can't ever imagine living any other way: trying desperately to stay one step ahead of the man who used to help her with homework and share laundry duty with her.

"Then I give up hunting and I move to New Orleans," she finishes grimly.

She looks over at him.

"To live with him?" John asks, very contained as he absorbs this information.

Elena shrugs. "It was implied," she admits.

John looks conflicted. Elena understands, he never wanted this life for her any more than John Gilbert had. She's impressed him, she knows that. But he would just as easily have left her with a man like Elkins; taking up his spare room while she takes online classes and tries not to shrivel away from the boredom of the mundane life of a victim in protective custody. Being good at hunting only means so much, she knows that. Sooner or later, you meet your match.

Hunters don't retire, they become the hunted. She knows John doesn't want that for her any more than he wants it for either of his sons. He has always had an endgame in mind: a finish line in his sights. So, Klaus imposing one on her isn't the worst possible fate.

"And can you live with that?" John asks finally. "What do you think about this deadline?"

In John's mind, Elena has always been in charge of her destiny. After all, she has the White Oak Stake. She doesn't need rescuing. She's never needed to run. She chose to do this.

"I'd sooner put down the crossbow than I'd kill Klaus," she says calmly, knowing exactly what he's saying. "Because if he dies then so do Caroline and Tyler and Katherine," she reminds him. Silently in her head she adds that Hope will lose her father. Baby hybrids aren't exactly John's concern. Neither are Elena's vampire friends, but at least he already knows these reasons. "I'm not going to stop protecting them just because you disagree with me."

John sighs. "You've always known your own mind, Elena."

He's spent too much of the past three years arguing with Elena, he's not going to waste time on it now that he's got his own goal in sight. He's done as much as he can for the girl, the rest is up to her.

He can't resist his next question, though. "But how comfortable are you with the idea that he's gonna have you right where he wants you?" he asks.

Elena does not hesitate. "Haven't I always survived by giving him what he wants?"

The silence is piercing. It's the simple truth. Elena gave her life, gave in every time it really mattered with Klaus. Her tiny piece of freedom she's carved for herself has come with Klaus' understanding that Elena – Elena, the person in possession of the White Oak Stake – will never raise a hand to harm him as long as her friends are linked to him. And they always will be.

"Not everything," John reminds her of Chicago.

She'd given Klaus a kiss, not her heart.

"Well, I can't exactly control that, now can I?" Elena says carefully.

Someone else would drag it out into the open: Elena has loved John's son since the moment he sat down next to her under the magnolia tree in her backyard. Klaus marked her his only days before – sacrificed her for his true nature and robbed her of the two remaining adult relatives she had. But this was a game he could not win. Klaus himself laid the path that led Dean to Elena's door; to that wretched double funeral – her second in less than a year. Dean offered Elena understanding while everyone else held their breath and waited for her to shatter. Klaus' bitemark might be imbedded in her skin for the rest of her life but Dean is the man she's thought of every day since she met him.

Someone else would remind Elena of her promise not to drag their son into Elena's messy, complicated life, but John knows that Elena forgets nothing – she carries it all like was born to do just that: carry burdens – so he does not respond to her question. She doesn't need an answer, anyway.

"So, what do you make of the painting?" John asks instead.

Elena frowns, not at all surprised by the subject change. "Honestly?" she asks.

He nods.

"I'm trying to remember if that's one of the ones that was in the Whitmore College gallery," she says.

John looks mildly intrigued by this.

"They have a few of her works in their permanent collection," she continues. "She was an alumna – one of the first women who attended the school. My dad took me to visit the campus a few times growing up, I swear there's a picture of me with that painting in the gallery." She shakes her head.

"How did Elkins end up with it?" he asks her.

"Exactly," she replies grimly.

---

"Yeah, Elena. All right, got it," Dean says before hanging up his phone. "Pull off at the next exit," he says to Sam.

"Why?" Sam asks tersely.

"'Cause Elena says that Dad thinks we've got the vampire's trail," Dean replies.

"How?" Sam asks, his tone even more terse

"I don't know; I didn't ask," Dean says nonchalantly.

Without a word, Sam speeds up then dramatically turns the car to block the road, coming to a stop and forcing John to stop as well.

"What the fuck, Sam?" Dean yells, sounding genuinely pissed.

He's out of the car in a flash, hurrying to the passenger side of the truck.

"Elena are you okay?" he asks, concerned.

She looks pale. "Why did he do that?" she asks in a shaky voice.

"He's having a fit about Dad," Dean says dismissively.

He opens the door, grasping her face between his hands to examine her more carefully. A tear slides down her cheek, catching on his thumb. She trembles.

"Oh Gilbert," Dean sighs.

While Dean is seeing to Elena, John is berating Sam.

"Sam! What the hell was that?" John asks his youngest son.

"We need to talk," Sam says.

"About what?" John asks.

He glances over at his eldest son, who seems to be wiping tears from Elena's face with his fingers. He leans down to whisper something in her ear. It's not reassuring to see them like this – they're too close for his comfort – but at least he knows Dean will take care of Elena while John gets to the bottom of Sam's ire. He returns his attention to his younger son.

"About everything," Sam says angrily. "Where we going, Dad? What's the big deal about this gun?" He rattles off his questions.

Dean chimes in from his place beside Elena. "Sammy, come on, we can Q&A after we kill all the vampires."

"Your brother's right, we don't have time for this," John says bluntly.

"Last time we saw you, you said it was too dangerous for us to be together," Sam says accusingly. "Now out of the blue you need our help. Now obviously something big is going down, and we wanna know what!"

"Get back in the car," John orders calmly.

"No," Sam says flatly, nostrils flaring.

John narrows his eyes. "I said get back in the damn car."

"Yeah." Sam raises his chin. "And I said no."

"All right, you made your point tough guy," Dean says, still beside Elena. "Look, we're all tired, we can talk about this later."

Sam can tell from his voice that he's trying to get his attention, so reluctantly, he breaks eye contact with his father to look at Dean. He's surprised to see that Elena looks bad. She looks worse than tired, she looks scared. A shiver runs through her and she turns away, turning her face into Dean's hand still cupping her cheek.

"Sammy, I mean it, come on," Dean says, sounding far past done.

Reluctantly, Sam turns to walk back to the car, but he can't resist.

"This is why I left in the first place," he mutters.

"What'd you say?" John asks, instantly furious.

In the back of Sam's mind, it occurs to him that it is weird that Elena has not interjected at all. The rest of him is purely focused on his father.

"You heard me," Sam says boldly.

"Yeah. You left," John says. "Your brother and me, we needed you."

"Sam…" Dean says, a note of warning in his voice.

"You walked away, Sam," John yells. "You walked away!"

"Stop it, both of you," Dean yells over them.

They both ignore him

"You're the one who said don't come back, Dad," Sam yells. "You're the one who closed that door, not me," he continues. "You were just pissed off that you couldn't control me anymore!"

Dean gets between them, physically pushing them apart.

"Listen, stop it, stop it. Stop it!" he yells. "That's enough! That means you too," he says to their dad.

There is silence and then, Elena speaks. "There is way too much testosterone in this family," she says in the flattest voice imaginable.

And then John Winchester does something that shocks Sam to his core: he laughs. First it's just a snort, which could easily be pushed aside as ironic, but it's immediately followed by what one could only be described as a chuckle.

Sam stares at him.

John looks away, shaking his head, but Sam can see him hiding a smile.

"What the hell was that?" Sam asks, too surprised to be angry anymore.

"Dad's maybe the only person who thinks Elena's funnier than I do," Dean says in undertone.

"Are we done?" she asks. "Can we go hunt vampires now?"

"An excellent idea, Elena," John says.

Sam is still weirded out by the revelation that Elena can make his dad laugh in completely inappropriate circumstances, but he also wants to claim some level of control.

"Fine," he says. "But Elena's riding with us," he adds assertively.

"Oh, fuck no," Elena says immediately. "There's no way in hell I'm getting in a car with you behind the wheel," she tells him.

Dean deftly plucks his keys from Sam's hand. "Don't worry, Elena, I'll drive," he assures her.

Sam is a little put out at being put in the passenger seat, but there are worse things.

"Whatever," he mumbles, wondering why Elena is so vehemently against his driving. Sure, cutting off his dad's car was a risky move, but he was in control the whole time.

Sam makes to head to the passenger side of the Impala, but Dean stops him.

"Uh-uh, Sammy, you're not riding with us," he says sternly.

"No," Sam says immediately.

Dean doesn't back down.

"You're ridin' with Dad, figure your shit out," Dean says.

Elena is already in the passenger seat, so without another word, Dean gets into the driver's seat and drives away.

John gets into his own car, waiting for his youngest son to join him.

"Terrific," Sam says to no one.

---

Just as they're merging for the exit, it hits Sam.

"Fuck," he says loudly.

John looks over at him. Up until this point the ride has been completely silent.

"I'm such an asshole," Sam says, horrified.

"I was wondering if you knew," John replies dryly.

"What, that I'm an asshole?" Sam asks snidely.

"No, I wasn't sure if Elena or maybe Dean had filled you in on her extensive history with car accidents," John says, not letting Sam get away from the truth.

"I just forgot," Sam says weakly.

"That's a hell of a thing to forget," John says neutrally.

"I need to apologize to her," Sam says guiltily.

"Yeah, you do."

"You could just tell us what's going on, you know," Sam says sullenly.

"When the time is right," John says cryptically.

Sam rolls his eyes. "Sure."

John rolls his eyes right back. "Well, the right time certainly isn't when Dean and Elena aren't here," he says pointedly.

"Whatever."

There are a few minutes of silence and then Sam can't take it anymore.

"Why'd you make Elena ride with you?" he bursts out. "Are that freaked out by the idea of Dean having a girlfriend?"

John looks surprised by this line of questioning.

"Sam, I was Elena's legal guardian," he says mildly. "Sure, she turned 18 two months later, but I made a promise to her father before he died. I gotta look out for her. And for the past nine months I have been neglecting that promise. I left her with Dean because I knew he'd do anything to protect her, but it's my promise, she's my responsibility."

Sam frowns. "I'm pretty sure Elena can look out for herself," he says finally.

"Sure, she can," John says agreeably. "She's also in the kind of danger you can't even imagine."

Sam shifts, thinking of all he knows. "I've got some ideas."

John looks at him warily.

Sam rolls his eyes. "Don't worry, Dad, Elena doesn't tell me anything," he assures him, then heads him off, "And she doesn't tell Dean much more."

He glances at his dad.

"But we're not idiots, you trained us well, we're good hunters, and we know how to look for the source of trouble."

"Stop looking," John says flatly. "That's an order."

"Why?" Sam asks, his tone challenging.

"Because you could get yourself killed, and Dean, and Elena," John says sternly. "Not to mention Jeremy and all of her friends back home – and their families too."

"So, you just expect her to run forever?" Sam asks.

"No, I expect Elena will make up her mind sooner or later," he says cryptically.

"What does that mean?" Sam demands.

"It means Elena has always been in charge of her own destiny," John says, like that's a real explanation. "If she doesn't want to date your brother, she's not going to, and if she wants to run for her life instead of letting it play out, that's her decision."

The silence after John's little speech seems to echo.

"You're not making any sense, Dad," Sam says finally.

John glances at him. "Good," he replies sternly. "That means you don't know nearly as much as you think you do."

Sam glares at him. He's tempted to reveal what he's discovered from the Guardian's Archive, but he manages to keep it to himself. One-upping his dad isn't more important than figuring out Elena's mystery unencumbered by his father's interference.

The quiet stretches on, and then John surprises Sam.

"Sammy?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think I ever told you this but the day you were born, you know what I did?" John smiles a little.

"No," Sam replies, rabidly curious at the sudden topic change.

"I put a hundred bucks into a savings account for you," John confesses. "I did the same thing for your brother," he adds.

He pauses.

"It was a college fund," he continues. "And every month I'd put in another hundred dollars until…" He gestures.

Immediately Sam realizes he's saying that this stopped when his mother died.

"Anyway, my point is, Sam, that…" John looks over at him briefly. "This was never the life that I wanted for you."

"Then why did you get so mad when I left?" Sam asks, curious.

John sighs. "You gotta understand something. After your mother passed, all I saw was evil, everywhere. And all I cared about was keeping you boys alive."

Sam feels his gut twist at this confession.

"I wanted you prepared," John explains, glancing over at him again. "Ready," he emphasizes.

His dad shakes his head before continuing. "So somewhere along the line, I uh…I stopped being your father," he admits. "And I became your drill sergeant."

Sam is taken aback not only at his father's honesty, but at his accuracy as well.

"So, when you said you wanted to go away to school, all I could think about, my only thought was that you were gonna be alone." John pauses. "Vulnerable."

Everything his father has ever done suddenly makes sense – Sam is still not okay with any of it, but he understands now in a way he never did before.

"Sammy it just…it never occurred to me what you wanted," he explains. "I just couldn't accept the fact that you and me, we're just different."

Sam can't help it, he laughs.

"What?" John asks.

Sam shakes his head. "We're not different," he tells him. "Not anymore," he reminds him. "With what happened to Mom and Jess..." he shakes his head again, laughing bitterly. "We probably have a lot more in common than just about anyone."

John gives him a bittersweet smile.

"I guess you're right, son," he admits.

After a pause, Sam speaks again.

"Hey, Dad?" he asks. "Whatever happened to that college fund?"

And John does not beat around the bush, he answers bluntly.

"Spent it on ammo."

Surprised, Sam laughs and after a moment his father joins in.

---

They convene on a hill just above a run-down old barn with half a dozen beater cars parked out front.

"Do we know if they're daywalkers?" Elena asks.

"I didn't know there was any such thing," Sam says, surprised.

John nods. "Lapis Lazuli jewelry spelled by a witch can be used as daylight protection," he explains.

"This wasn't common knowledge until the Gilberts began to share their extensive knowledge," Dean adds.

Elena smiles, a little sadly. "Specifically, John Gilbert."

"Your birth father?" Sam asks.

She nods.

"And to answer your question, Elena, as far as I can tell, no," John says. "None of the attacks happen during the day, and they've got that barn of theirs pretty locked up."

He was right, as rundown as it looked, there was no way for light to get in.

"So, I guess walking right in's not our best option," Dean says, referring to the fact that it is the middle of the night.

"Actually, that's the plan," John says.

---

"Dad, I've got an extra stake if you need one," Dean says, pulling stakes out of the trunk for Sam and Elena as well.

Elena is loading her gun with wooden bullets while Sam searches the trunk for the vervaine stash.

"I think I'm okay," John says, Revealing his own expertly whittled stake. "Thanks."

There's an axe wedged under the edge of the weapons' hatch, preventing Sam from freeing the leather case full of vervaine darts and grenades. He raises an arm to brace the top of the trunk while he grips the handle of the axe, wiggling it free.

"Wow," Dean says, impressed by the craftsmanship of his father's stakes.

The axe slides free and Sam grunts in triumph. As he's lowering his hand from the trunk, his thumb brushes up against something tucked behind the keyhole.

Vervaine case in hand, Sam is raising his hand back up to the lid to feel behind the keyhole for the object when John speaks.

"So, you three really wanna know about this Colt?" he asks.

Sam turns, hand dropping to his side, his curiosity over the mystery object completely forgotten.

He exchanges a brief look with Elena and Dean.

"Yes sir," he says, speaking for all of them.

The three of them give him their full attention.

"It's just a story, a legend really," he begins. He turns his head to look at the three of him. "Well, I thought it was," he continues. "Never really believed it until I read Daniel's letter…"

He turns to face them fully before he tells them this next part.

"Back in 1835, when Halley's Comet was overhead, the same night those men died at the Alamo. They say Samuel Colt made a gun. A special gun. He made it for a hunter, a man like us," he scans the three of them, meeting each of their gazes. "Only on horseback. Story goes he made thirteen bullets, and this hunter used the gun a half dozen times before he disappeared, the gun along with him. And somehow Daniel got his hands on it."

He pauses, and they hold their breath, waiting for what's next.

"They say…" he trails off, then starts again, "They say this gun can kill anything."

"Kill anything like, supernatural anything?" Dean asks.

"Like the demon," Sam says, understanding his dad's obsession.

"Yeah, the demon," John confirms. "Ever since I picked up its trail I've been looking for a way to destroy that thing. Find the gun," he pauses. "We may have it."

Sam feels an instant jolt of adrenaline. He glances at his brother, who looks similarly electrified until he glances over at Elena. Instantly Dean's expression changes to one of concern. So, Sam looks at Elena too. Elena doesn't look hopeful or excited, she looks troubled, deeply troubled.

She stares at John who stares back at her, like they're on opposite sides of a line drawn in the sand.

"So, as an ace in the hole," John continues like nothing happens. He throws open the cooler in the bed of his pickup and pulls out a blood bag. "Dead man's blood."

"God I wish I knew that trick back in Mystic Falls," Elena says wryly.

"Why?" Sam asks. "Loads of vampires you wanted to poison?" he asks jokingly.

"Maybe one or two," she says, and he really can't tell if she's joking or not. Surely his father would have killed any vampire that breathed in Elena's direction, right?

She looks at John again. "Are you sure about this?" she asks him, like this isn't the first time she's asked.

He nods, resolute. "I'm sure, Elena."

"Okay."

---

The barn stands below them, eerily still in the late afternoon sun.

There is no quiet way to sneak up on a vampire, so they don't even try. The four of them pick their way down to the barn, chatting loudly.

"How much further?" Dean asks.

"I think we're almost to the trailhead," Elena answers.

They're pretending to be hikers. If any of the vampires are awake, they will dismiss them as passerby. When they enter the barn, they might briefly consider them prey, but they will never know what they really are until they are upon them.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Sam asks.

"Of course, see that old barn is even on the map," Elena tells him.

"I'm gonna need to change the memory stick in my camera soon," John says offhandedly.

"We can stop when we get to the barn," Dean replies.

"Good idea," Elena says.

"Do you think we'll be able to make it back before dark?" Sam asks.

"As long as we stick to a quick pace," John answers.

"The sun sets so late this time of year, anyway," Elena adds.

"And we've got about a half hour of dusk after the suns sets," Dean continues.

They've reached flat ground, the barn looming closer with every step.

"I need a place to sit down," John says evenly as they approach the barn. "I forgot where I put the memory sticks in my damn pack."

"Let's check out the barn," Elena suggests.

Sam and Dean move forward to throw open the doors. A swirl of dust is kicked up, the barn is eerily black inside from all the sun-proofing the vampires did.

---

It's the smell that hits them first. The barn is dark and cavernous, too dark to see the carnage inside. But the smell hits them like a wall, like a warning shot to hit the floor, to flee for safety.

But they are hunters, they've learned to ignore the instinct to run. Stakes clutched in their fists, crossbow raised, they enter the darkened barn.

It's a smell not entirely surprising for a vampire lair: the smell of freshly shed blood with notes of old blood beneath it, rotting almost. It's the smell of a slaughterhouse but with something sharp and sweet that Sam cannot name, like an overripe fruit, moments from bursting.

Elena lowers her weapon, her face going rapidly pale as it changes from apprehension to recognition to horrible, horrible fear.

"Something's wrong," she says lowly.

John gives her a dark look, as if to say shut up.

Elena is shaking her head, ignoring him completely. "No, no," she chants quietly. "No, the smell, John, the smell!"

"Elena, what do you mean?" Sam asks.

John gives him a sharp glare, but unease is creeping up on him as well. Surely, a vampire would've attacked them by now, with the fuss Elena is making.

Elena fumbles around, trying to find her phone to use as a light. When it's lit, she darts off into the darkness.

"Elena," Dean calls after her, uncaring of his father's dark look.

For a moment the three of hover in the square of light from the doors, shocked by Elena's frantic movements and the barn's tomblike silence. Elena's light is too weak to reveal to them what's hidden in the dark, it's a jittery bright point in the pitch black, that's all. A quick exchange of glances and they step forward as one, the darkness swallowing them.

There is her frantic beam of light, the sound of Elena's pounding footsteps and then: a sharp high gasp that gradually grows into a strangled scream.

"Elena?!" Dean is alarmed.

It's too dark for them to see, but Sam suddenly remembers he brought a much larger flashlight, fumbling he extracts it from his jacket and flicks it on.

It takes a moment for Sam to even realize what he is looking at. Dean is already dashing to Elena's side.

"Dear God," John says grimly.

Sam mind buzzes, but he stays still, frozen in horror at what he sees before him. His flashlight sits like a spotlight, but he knows once he moves it that the carnage will go on forever.

"They're all…" Sam trails off.

John is grim. "Dead," he finishes Sam's thought.

There are only three of them within Sam's beam, laying side by side, drawn and gray, stakes blooming from their chests like grave markers. He can see through the gloom better now, the edge of a boot, a hand, perfectly arranged hair. If he dares to swing the light in either direction, there will be more of them. Too many to count.

"Sammy," his dad says sharply. "I need to see more."

Sam looks at his father, paralyzed, as if experiencing horror for the first time.

With a sigh, John takes the flashlight from his son's outstretched hand. He sweeps it across the length of the barn, moving quickly but counting stakes, counting bodies.

They're laid out neatly, arm to arm and feet to head. Three rows deep on each side with a precise path laid out between them. In total, there must be a hundred of them at least, if not more.

"So, this is what dead vampires smell like," Sam says dully. "That's how Elena knew."

He's killed vampires before, but he can't say he's ever paid any particular attention to the smell; now he will never forget it. The scent, the scene, laid out before them like a gruesome tableau, will haunt him for the rest of his life.

John ignores him, aiming for Elena and Dean. They're kneeling side by side.

Sam follows him reluctantly.

Dean is speaking urgently in Elena's ear.

"Elena, we gotta go," he is saying.

"Dean, look at them," she replies insistently, voice raw.

"I see them, Gilbert." Dean is patient, but clearly more interested in getting Elena out than assessing the carnage.

Sam stares at them: Elena taking in the bodies in front of them, Dean only looking at her.

"Fuck," John says suddenly.

Dean and Sam's attention swings over to him. Unlike Dean, John has followed Elena's insistent plea, he is looking at the bodies.

His flashlight has fallen on a vampire, probably in his mid-twenties when he changed, with longish shaggy black hair, wearing jeans and a black leather jacket. Beside him is a vampire half a dozen years younger at least, probably in his late teens when he changed, with artfully messy bronze hair, wearing jeans and a plain gray V-neck shirt.

"They look familiar to you, Dean?" John asks grimly.

"Yes," Elena says, relieved he understands her. Her eyes fall on a pretty blonde teenaged vampire with an impeccable blowout. Her lips concave in a strange way, and Elena reaches out a shaking hand to push them back, revealing her missing incisors. Elena turns away to puke onto the ground.

"They look like the Salvatores?" Dean says suddenly, his hand on Elena's back, trying to comfort her.

"Yes!" Elena screams. Suddenly she lurches up, staggering down the line, searching the vampires.

Dean follows her.

"No, no, no, no," she chants as she goes. She falls to her knees again and screams.

Sam and John are the last to arrive. John drops his pack, and distantly Sam hears the splat of the bag of dead man's blood being crushed by the weaponry inside the pack. He cannot tear his eyes away from the three dead vampires in front of him.

Sam's stomach lurches. He takes in the light brown hair of one, the plaid shirt of another: there they are side by side. Bizarro vampire doppelgangers of his family: with stakes blooming from their chests. Both Vampire John and Vampire Sam that is. Vampire Dean is missing his heart entirely, bloodstained shirt torn apart to reveal the empty cavern of his chest.

Elena is scrambling to find a contact on her phone. She puts it to her ear, the light still on, bouncing around the room as she jitters and paces in front of the dead vampire Winchesters.

"Tyler?" she all but shrieks. A pause then a whine as she gets sent to voicemail. "Answer your phone, Tyler!" she begs before hanging up to call again.

Before the call goes through, she catches sight of something that makes her hang up. She staggers across the aisle to a vampire placed perfectly across from Vampire Dean.

"It's not her," she says with significant relief. "It's not really her."

As the three of them approach, Sam catches glimpse of the vampire: This one is a stunning brunette with perfect curls, dressed all in black.

"Who are the Salvatores?" Sam asks suddenly.

"Some guys Elena knows," John replies.

"And the blonde?" is Sam's next question.

"Caroline Forbes." It's Dean who answers this time.

"So, this is supposed to be Katherine."

"We need to leave now," John says grimly.

"All of these vampires were killed because they look like people in Elena's life," Sam says, needing to hear it out loud. "They're doppelgangers."

"Symbolically, yes, but not literally. We need to go," John says with more urgency.

"Why was the Dean vampire missing his heart instead of being staked?" Sam asks suddenly.

"He's a hybrid," Elena answers faintly. "You kill a hybrid by removing their heart or cutting off their head, not staking them," she tells them.

"You know him?" Dean asks.

"His name is Ryan," she says, nodding. "He's the one who helped me in Chicago."

She looks at Dean. "He turned him because he looked like you."

"Who turned him?" Sam asks.

"Elena," John says warningly.

"He was missing," Elena says. "Tyler couldn't find him, and now he's dead."

"Dean, pick her up, we need to leave."

Sam has never seen his dad look so afraid.

Dean crouches down beside Elena, getting ready to hoist her into her arms.

"Who's there?" Elena calls suddenly.

For a moment, Sam thinks she's gone mad. The barn is so still and black, there can't be anyone else still alive in there with the three of them. They are the only living beings in this horror scene. Then he sees it. There's a tiny movement from the back corner behind the Katherine corpse.

John raises his crossbow at the same moment Sam points his gun. Dean straightens, taking a defensive position in front of Elena.

Elena grabs the flashlight from where John dropped it, swinging it towards a lone pile of hay bales.

"Come out slowly," Elena says, her voice tight.

A girl steps out from behind the stacks of hay. She has long brown hair, perfectly straight. She's wearing jeans and henley shirt with old Chuck Taylor's. Her face is streaming with tears.

"My friends," she gasps. "Please, someone help my friends!"

John keeps his crossbow trained on her, but Sam lowers his gun.

"How did you get here?" Elena asks roughly, barely able to look at her.

The girl looks terrified.

"I was with my friends and then he brought me here," she says.

"Who?" Sam asks. "Who brought you here?"

The girl stands in front of them, shaking. In a flash of clarity, Sam realizes she is supposed to represent Elena. This must be what Elena looked like at as a teenager: pin-straight hair and Girl-Next-Door modest.

She doesn't answer. "Please, my friends need help!"

"She could be a vampire," John begins in undertone.

"Where are your friends?" Sam asks, ignoring him.

Elena answers John. "Don't be stupid, she's me," she reminds him. "She's bait."

"They're going to die if we don't help them," the girl tells them earnestly.

Elena silently hands Dean the flashlight before moving to stand in front of the girl. She takes her face in her hands, forcing eye contact.

"Who brought you here?" Elena asks.

The girl shakes her head violently.

"My friends!" she says insistently.

"You've been compelled," Elena says suddenly. "Someone told you to say these things."

The girl nods, looking relieved.

"He made me!"

This revelation causes a shiver to work down Sam's spine. He feels his father's urgency now.

"Elena, Dad's right, we need to go," Sam says.

"What about Little Miss Copycat?" Dean asks.

Sam shrugs helplessly. "We bring her with us?"
"That doesn't strike me as a good idea," John chimes in.

"Well, we can't just leave her here," Sam replies heatedly.

"Why are you here?" Elena asks her.

The girl trembles. "It's your fault," she says with a gasp. "People die around you," she tells her. "It matters and you know it."

She flinches.

"Elena," Dean says, alarmed.

All of the blood has drained straight out of Elena's face, she is so still, and so afraid.

"How would you know that?" she asks, her voice cracking with emotion. "How would you know I said that?"

"Damon told me," says a man's voice from the other side of the barn.

As they turn towards the sound, there is a great cacophonous crash on all sides around them. All of the blackout panels on the barn have fallen to the ground, light flooding in from every possible direction, revealing the horror around them.

"Ric," Elena says.

"Hello Elena," Alaric replies. "Damon told me you said that to him, how he wanted to shake it off, but it shook him to his core. He thought of it and of you, every day."

He looks her over. "He only thought of himself, of course, but I knew." He shakes his head, looking sad and solemn. "I knew as soon as he said it: you weren't talking about him. You were talking about yourself."

Elena draws a shaky breath.

"It's all your fault," the girl tells her again, absolutely sincere.

Without another word, Elena reels around, hitting the girl directly in the face, knocking her out with one punch. She goes down like a bag of bricks, not half the fighter her counterpart is.

"What the hell, Elena," Sam says, surprised.

"Why did you do that?" Alaric asks, not showing his own surprise any further than asking the question.

"I needed to know if she was human," Elena says bluntly.

Alaric looks appreciative.

"Besides, I already know that," she continues. "I just can't figure out why this." She gestures to the bodies.

"I wanted you to see the consequences of your actions," Alaric says.

"Were they already vampires?" she asks, gazing at the Katherine lookalike at her feet.

"Of course," Alaric says, sounding surprised. "I would never make more vampires."

"You did this," she says it like a statement, but there is a hint of disbelief that he picks up on.

"I know, it's not my style," he admits easily. "But I had to do something," he says, like mass murder is perfectly logical. "Nothing else seemed to work; I had to get your attention somehow."

Understanding dawns on her face.

"You returned my clothes," she says softly.

He nods. "It's your favorite shirt."

He does not look like a monster, he looks like an indulgent father, like he could list every piece of clothing Elena loves, with all of the care and concern of a worried parent reporting a beloved child missing.

Elena's lower lip trembles, and she looks more undone than Sam's ever seen her. Alaric's violence stole her mask, and now his consideration undoes her, revealing her at last: terrified and young, not at all fearless or unstoppable; just a girl who has seen too much, done too much, and somehow survived it all.

This is the real mystery Sam yearns to solve: who is Elena Gilbert? The answer: just a girl.

"It's what guardians do," Alaric reminds her. "Take care of their children."

"Guardian?" Sam pipes up, the word flipping a switch in his head. Suddenly he realizes Elena did not call him Alaric – she called him Ric. Rick.

Alaric briefly glances at him, but it's enough.

"Oh my god," Sam says as all the pieces fall into place. "Isobel Fleming is your mother."

Elena looks at Sam, taken aback. "That's right," she says, confused. "She's my birth mother, how did you know her last name? I never told you that."

Sam shakes his head, as if he can deny the truth in front of him. "I found a website dedicated to her work," he admits. "The Guardian's Archive."

Elena looks at Alaric. "You made a website?"

"Well, I had a feeling John would try to protect his sons from this pertinent information," Alaric admits.

"You were researching Elena?" John asks Sam. "After I explicitly-" Sam cuts him off.

"You didn't explicitly say anything to me about Elena," Sam reminds him. "You weren't there for any of it."

"I told Dean!" John argues, like Sam and Dean are the same person and any rule issued to the eldest automatically goes to the youngest too.

"You know, Dad, you never actually said I couldn't research Elena," Dean pipes up, surprising them both. "You just said I was better off not knowing."

He looks at Elena. "I didn't look anything up," he tells her seriously. "But I knew Sam was doing it."

Elena just nods, her attention more on Alaric than any of them.

"I understand, Dean," she says, attention still on Alaric. "You wanted to control what they learned," Elena challenges Alaric. "So you get them on your side."

"The facts speak for themselves, Elena," Alaric says to her. "You are so blinded by your feelings, you don't even see the danger you're in, letting those monsters live."

Elena shakes her head hard.

"You're the one who killed all of these people," she reminds him.

"Monsters," Alaric corrects her. "I killed all of these monsters." He gestures to the rows of bodies, adding "Just like you kill monsters."

"Not like this," Elena argues fiercely.

"You kill monsters, and you make them too," Alaric ignores her as he continues. "You let that half-breed use your blood to make more of his abominations."

Elena stares at him, unable to argue here.

Dean looks at Sam, suddenly remembering what Elena said about making monsters, about being the reason Tyler is the way he is, but there is no time to discuss.

"You've even teamed up with Katherine of all monsters." The disgust in Alaric's voice is palpable.

There is a pause and then, "When did you know?" she asks, her voice shaking.

"That the girl in South America was Katherine, not you?" Alaric clarifies.

She nods.

"When I finally caught up with her," he says. "It took me years, Katherine is very clever, and she played you very well. But I know you, Elena," he says this so earnestly that she flinches. "I'm not Damon or Stefan, I'm never thinking of her when I look at you. She can play nice and play carefree and never take a single bite out of anyone for years, but she'll never have your heart or your sincerity."

His smile is full of fatherly pride.

"It made far more sense, for you to be here, for you to be saving people, than it did for you to be acting just like her," he explains intensely. "As much as there is a wild child lives inside you, you will always take responsibility, Elena."

"I won't let you kill them," she says flatly, cutting right to the heart of what he's saying.

"I'm so proud of you," he says, ignoring her. "Even in Chicago, when you were playing at being her, you protected that girl from him." He gestures at the heartless corpse of Ryan.

"So, you were in Chicago?" she asks him. "You've been on our trail for months?"

"Yes, I was in Chicago," Alaric admits easily. His gaze slides over to John, intense displeasure rippling across his face. "I saw what Klaus did to you."

"What I let him do," Elena corrects him, voice whispery soft.

Alaric ignores Elena, still glaring at John. "You know, I thought I could trust her with you," he tells him. "I thought, well, at least John knows the dire stakes, at least he knows better than to leave her within Klaus' grasp." He shakes his head, disgusted. "And then I see her in Chicago, with that bastard's hands all over her." He gestures to Ryan's body. "And this one, he tells me that she's his abomination's favorite babysitter."

Elena's face drains of blood at the mention of Hope.

"You failed her, John," Alaric continues. "You put my kids at risk, letting those vampires hang around." He is practically vibrating with his righteous indignation. "I have no idea what you were thinking."

He glares at John expectantly, causing him to realize he is waiting for an explanation.

"I was thinking Elena makes her own choices, she always has," John responds, voice carefully controlled.

Alaric sneers.

"He was thinking Elena is a grown woman who will do whatever the hell she thinks is best," Elena cuts in. "I can handle Klaus," she says, self-assured.

"Klaus doesn't need to be handled," Alaric corrects Elena. "Klaus needs to be eliminated – along with the rest of his kind."

Dean and Sam share a tense glance, this is exactly what Rick – Alaric – said to Sam in his email.

Elena crosses her arms over her chest, shrugging. "Good luck with that," she says, her voice completely neutral.

Alaric surprises them by shakes his head and grinning at her. "You're a hell of a hunter." His face softens. "I always knew you would be."

She raises her chin.

"I am my father's daughter."

"Which one?" he counters quickly. "Grayson, the man who raised you? Or John, the man who made you? Or even me." He presses his hand to his chest. "The man who trained you?"

She shrugs, refusing to react.

"Does it matter? In the end you all hated vampires."

"And you protect them," he says, sounding disappointed.

"I won't let you kill them," she repeats.

"This room isn't a warning, Elena," he says. "It's a wakeup call: if I have to kill them all one by one: I will."

"You still won't be able to kill the Originals," she reminds him. "You don't have the White Oak Stake." She raises her empty hands. "Do you see it here?"

Alaric shrugs. "I'm sure it's somewhere nearby."

"What makes you think we'll give it to you?" John asks.

"You want them dead as much as I do," Alaric reminds him.

"You know her just as well as I do," John counters.

Alaric flinches. Dean and Sam exchange confused looks.

"All these years later and you don't think she can be persuaded? She hasn't budged at all?"

John shakes her head. "You can't change that kind of conviction."

Alaric nods. "You would know."

Casually, he reaches behind his back. He pulls out a gun. He does not point it at them, instead he just admires it, holding it with both hands, turning it over.

"Daniel was happy to give me this before he retired," Alaric says.

"The Colt." John's voice is reverent.

"That's what you're calling it?" Elena asks. "Retirement? Not murder."

She has her eyes on John, who is staring at the gun like it's his salvation.

"I think you can't teach an old dog new tricks," Alaric says simply. "Besides, he was mighty content when I let him know what my plans were for the gun."

"You stole Samantha Gilbert's painting and put it in his house," Elena realizes.

"Another sign you ignored." Alaric heaves a sigh.

"It won't work on the Originals," John says, ignoring the topic change. He's entirely fixated on the gun.

"We don't know that," Elena admits. "Besides," she adds. "He's not going to use it on them."

"What?" John asks. "Why?"

"He'll trade you for it, right Ric?" Elena's tone is mocking.

"For the White Oak Stake," John realizes.

Alaric nods.

"Quick deduction skills."

"He doesn't know where it is," Elena says, sweet as venom.

"I never figured out where she's hidden it," John admits wearily. "I've been through her bags more times than I can count."

"Dad!" Dean sounds shocked.

"Don't worry, Dean, I knew," Elena assures him.

John looks surprised.

"I knew you would before I hid it, John," she says simply. "Katherine told me not to trust you with it." She shrugs. "She was right."

This entire time, Sam thought his father was the only one Elena trusted, but now he knows; Elena doesn't trust anyone. She's been on her own for all these years.

She looks at Alaric again.

"No one but me knows where it is, you will never find it without me."

"So, you'll prevent your friends from seeking justice to save your vampires, even?" Alaric asks.

"I'm not trading lives, Alaric," Elena says softly.

She's edged herself behind Dean. So slowly, it looks like she is scared and seeking comfort. She's drawn so close to him; it's a move Sam has seen her do so many times. Hide herself behind Dean, so no one gets a look at that face: that divine face. He can't figure out her reason now, but he's too angry to focus on it.

"Seriously, Elena?" Sam asks, furious that she is interfering with his revenge. "They're vampires, who cares what happens to them?"

"Fuck you, Sam," Elena replies, and then she shoots Alaric Saltzman right between the eyes with Dean's gun.

The silence after Alaric's body hits the ground is deafening until she speaks again.

"First lesson in vampire hunting: the only advantage we have is the element of surprise."

"Who taught you that?" Dean asks, surprised.

Dean, the person primarily responsible for training Elena.

"He did."

She looks between the three of them.

"He won't stay down forever," she reminds them.

"Should we tie him up? Take him with us?" Sam asks uneasily.

"And do what with him?" Elena asks bluntly.

"Kill him," Dean suggests.

"The only way to kill Alaric is to kill me," she tells him.

"What?" Sam and Dean ask at the same time.

"We don't have time for this, kids," John says. "She's right, we can't do anything with him."

"All I can do is run," Elena says, more to herself than the others.

She looks at John. "Go get your gun," Elena advises him. "Sam would you mind carrying the girl?"

The Bizzarro Elena is starting to stir, so Sam scoops her up while John takes the colt from Alaric.

With Elena taking up the rear, they head for the exit.

"We're just leaving them here?" Sam asks uneasily.

"Of course not," Elena says.

"What are we gonna do?" Dean asks.

Elena pulls out her zippo, lighting it and then throwing it on the nearest vampire, which ignites instantly, and the ones on either side light up instantly. Within moments the whole room is ablaze.

"Vamps burn," she says flatly.

"Right," Dean says, for lack of anything else to say.

---

"Sam should be back any minute," John tells Dean as he hangs up the phone.

Dean nods, on rout.

"The witch was able to undo the compulsion," John continues despite Dean's disinterest. "The girl didn't really know anything, but she's fine, she'll make a full recovery."

"So, who turned Alaric Saltzman into a vampire?" Dean asks.

John does not answer, but Elena does.

"Esther Mikaelson."

Dean looks at her.

"Elena," John says in warning.

"Does it matter if he knows, anymore?" Elena asks, not really looking at either of them.

Since she led them out of the burning barn, she's been quiet. She told John to find a witch to undo the girl's compulsion and that had been it.

"I think it matters," Dean says tensely. "I think I deserve to know."

Elena nods, looking absentminded almost.

"Who's Esther Mikaelson?" he asks.

"The Original Witch," Elena tells him. "Not like, the first witch," she corrects herself. "They call her that because her children and her husband became the first vampires. She changed them herself. She fed her children blood, then one by one, her husband – their father – slaughtered them. She remade them. Into monsters. And then she hated them for it. Over the centuries she and Mikael – their father – have tried to eliminate the monsters they created. Three years ago, she made one more Original: Alaric."

"Only this time, she made one to kill them all," John adds.

Dean absorbs this. "Why is the only way to kill him by killing you?" he asks after a moment.

"She used my blood to make him," she says. "that's how you make new monsters," she continues bitterly. "Doppelganger blood."

"That's who's blood she fed her children?"

"Her name was Tatia," Elena says, nodding. "She looked just like me." Dazed, she adds, "She died just like me."

"Why did you die, Elena?" Dean asks harshly. "Sam and I know about the curse of the sun and the moon. We know it's not to free werewolves from the moon or vampires from the sun. Since ya know, neither of those things happened, but the doppelganger was sacrificed – you were sacrificed. What did that sacrifice do?"

"Klaus," Elena answers. "He was Esther's son, and the bastard of a wolf. Mikael wasn't his father. He became the first hybrid when he killed a human for the first time as a vampire, triggering his wolf curse. She used Tatia's blood – to the point of death – to bind his werewolf side. He had to drain me to the point of death to unleash it."

"You said the guy, the one who looked like me, you said he was a hybrid?" Dean recalls.

Elena nods. "Ryan."

"Who made Ryan?" Dean asks.

"Klaus," Elena answers. "He uses my blood to do it."

"Klaus is the one who kissed you in Chicago." Dean already knows this; he just needs Elena to acknowledge it.

She nods again.

"Uses?" he asks. "Present tense?"

"Present tense."

"That's why you had a band-aid in the crook of your elbow when you got back from New Orleans," Sam says from the doorway.

They all look at him.

"The girl?" John asks, eager to change the subject.

"She's fine," Sam says, quickly switching back to the discussion he walked in on. He has waited so long to learn the truth. "He took more of your blood, right?"

"Yes," she admits roughly. "I gave it to him."

Sam pulls out his phone, handing it to Dean. On the screen is a marriage announcement for Alaric Saltzman and Isobel Fleming.

"I'm sorry, Elena," he says to her. "All I had to do was do a little more research into Isobel Fleming and I could've known about her and Alaric." He shakes his head, furious with himself. "It was in the damn article in the Mystic Falls Courier – his students called him Ric." He looks at Dean. "I saw an article about him resigning, I didn't even think to tell you that Alaric Saltzman left Mystic Falls alive."

"It's fine, Sam," Elena says, her tone stiff. "Alaric was already onto us."

John mouth twitches. He's furious that his sons were digging into Elena without his knowledge, despite his absence and silence leaving more than enough space for this to happen.

Dean hands Sam his phone back.

"Which of your friends are vampires?" Dean asks suddenly. "Besides Katherine, of course."

"Caroline and Tyler," Elena answers. "Well, Tyler's a hybrid, but it's all the same really. If I let Alaric kill off the Originals, Tyler will die, too."

"So that's what started it all?" Sam asks. "You wanted to protect your friends."

"I won't let them die," Elena says this like she's reciting a prayer, rubbing a worry stone, reciting a mantra. Like she has worn out the meaning but she can't stop, not for anyone or anything.

"Caroline Forbes is a vampire," Dean says, testing it out. He's only met her briefly. He still remembers the look on her face in that hospital room, the broken way she told Elena she loved her, like she had all the power in the world to destroy her. Dean cannot reconcile the word vampire with the girl standing in that doorway, so utterly human in her hurt as Elena, in her grief, rejected her love.

"Your doppelganger is a vampire," Sam says, because that feels more important to him. "That's what you meant when you said she changed."

"Klaus changed her?" Dean asks. "You said if she's a monster he made her that way?"

Elena shakes her head.

"Katherine changed herself," she corrects him. "Katherine chose to become a vampire instead of letting Klaus sacrifice her. So, Klaus murdered her entire village." She looks at him. "That's how you make a monster." She stares into space for a moment.

"That's how you make a monster," she repeats to herself.

It's not lost on Dean that Elena just stood in a room full of dead vampires that look like people she knows – people she loves – and now she is telling him that this is how you make a monster: bloodshed and carnage.

"How does Klaus have a kid?" Sam interrupts suddenly. "Klaus is the dad you babysat for, but vampires can't procreate."

Elena shrugs. "Klaus is a hybrid," she reminds him. "Hope's mom is a werewolf – well, she's a hybrid now too," she corrects herself. "But she was just a werewolf when she had Hope."

"That is seriously creepy," Dean interjects.

Sam nods in agreement.

"Hope is a very sweet girl," Elena responds, defensive. Any incidents of magic are none of their business. She's certainly not going to remind them her paternal grandmother is a witch.

John waves his hand. "Never mind all that, we need to focus."

The three of them turn their attention back to him.

"No offense, Elena," John begins, turning to face her specifically. "But I'm in my endgame here. I can't have Alaric in my way while I do this." He sighs. "I need a plan," he says, more to himself than to her. "What the hell am I gonna do with you?"

Elena's façade doesn't even crack. She looks at John as if he's said nothing, as if she's still waiting for him to begin.

Her phone ringing seems to break her revere. They all watch as she seems to come back to life – vibrating with fear.

She looks at the screen then hurriedly answers it.

"Tyler?" she says breathlessly. "You're okay? He didn't- he didn't find you?"

She listens to his reply, then shakes her head.

"No, not Klaus, Alaric, Ty. Alaric killed Ryan. I was afraid he found you, too."

She hurries out of the room.

"Really, Dad?" Dean asks, sounding disgusted. "After everything she's been through you're just gonna back burner her like this?"

Sam is surprised at the depth of Dean's disapproval.

John shakes his head.

"Don't you start, Dean."

"Start what?" he asks. "Questioning you for the first time, ever?" He shrugs. "I can't think of a better time."

He lays his hand flat, slicing it through the air in frustration. "She deserves better than this; she deserves better from you."

John's tone is condescending. "Are you sure you're capable of being unbiased in this, Dean?"

"Jesus Christ, Dad," Sam jumps in, startling Dean. "You're gonna get on his case for having feelings now?"

"Inappropriate feelings," John says sternly. "We talked about this," he reminds his eldest son.

Dean's works his jaw. "All feelings aside," he manages to grind out. "Elena is her own person. She gets to decide what she does with her life, not you."

"Elena can do whatever she wants as long as she keeps it under control," John counters. "She knows that. She lost control of the situation. I'm stepping in now."

It hits Sam like a ton of bricks.

"Oh my god," he says out loud.

"What?" Dean asks.

"You didn't," he says to his father, staring at him in disbelief.

"I didn't what?" John asks, face wary.

"You did the same thing to Elena that you did to Dean, didn't you?" he says, shaking his head. "You told her to stay away from Dean. That's why she won't tell him how she feels, why she keeps tiptoeing around it."

Dean stares at Sam for a long time, betrayal evident in his face.

"Tell me that's not true, Dad," Dean says finally, unable to look at his father. "Tell me you didn't do that to her."

"I think we both know he did, Dean," Sam is the one who replies, still staring at their dad. "The real question is when? How long did it take you to issue your command?" he asks bluntly. "How soon did you decide you had the right to control their relationship."

John is silent.

Sam looks at Dean. "How soon did he say it to you?"

Dean works his jaw again before he answers. "Maybe a week? I couldn't fucking believe it; she was a kid. That's why he said it, I thought." He looks away. "I was a little offended, I guess. She was so young. And with all the shit that went down with her ex's older brother…"

"It wasn't you, Dean," Sam says, finally putting it together. "It was her."

Dean's eyes widen.

"She loved you already."

Dean looks at John finally. "Answer him."

"You don't know the game she's playing, Dean," John says finally. "The game she's been playing since before you ever even crossed her mind," he continues forcefully. "You're less than a pawn in that kinda game, Dean. We all are."

He sighs. "I helped her because I promised John Gilbert I would. But this has always been out of my fucking league. I wasn't going to let her pull you into that, too."

Dean stares at him for a long moment.

"You know," his voice is so low that Sam has to strain to hear it. "When I thought it was about me…" he trails off. "Yeah, that hurt, thinking that you thought I would take advantage of her." He looks away. "And I guess, I thought, you know, you're probably right, she is too good for me." He frowns. "But this is…" he trails off. He looks John in the eye. "That you made her feel bad about this, that's horrible." He shrugs. "I don't know if I can forgive you for that."

John looks surprised, but Sam isn't. It's at the heart of their conversation in Chicago: Elena has been the most important person in Dean's life for years now. John should not be surprised that Dean would pick her in the end.

Dean shrugs. "I'm out," he tells his dad. "Do what you need to do with that gun, I'm going to help Elena," he says, and then he walks out of the room.

---

Elena has her back to the door when Dean enters.

"Elena?" he asks cautiously.

"Tyler's fine," she says automatically.

"What about you?" Dean asks. "You gonna be okay?"

Elena doesn't reply, which is an answer all on its own.

He nods. "Right. Yeah. Okay."

He hesitates. "You uh, wanna talk about this?"

"Not really," Elena speaks finally. "But if you have more questions, I guess I owe you that."

Dean shakes his head. "No, Elena, you don't owe me anything. I'm just here for you. Whatever you need."

"Oh," she says.

She still hasn't turned around to look at him and Dean doesn't know how to make her understand that none of it matters to him – she's still his partner, she's still Elena.

"What do you want to do, Elena?" he asks. "Just tell me, and I'll do whatever-"

She turns around suddenly, a wild look on her face, and before he knows it, she strides forward, rising on her tiptoes to kiss him fiercely, wrapping her arms around his neck. He responds in an instant, kissing her back with every ounce of himself, hands rising to frame her face, one resting at her jaw and the other sliding into the thick of her hair. There is no room to wonder if this is real, to revel in at last, there is just Elena, the taste of her mouth, the heat that radiates off of her, the way her touch makes every inch of his body feel set alight, she's overtaken his entire world and it's the best damn moment of his life so far.

Finally, they pull apart, lungs burning.

"That's a good answer," Dean manages to say.

She laughs, kissing him again, just a quick press of her upturned lips to his but he follows her mouth, pulling her back in for a longer kiss.

She's pulling away again to speak, "Dean-" she begins, but John bursts into the room, cutting her off.

John glances between them, both of them reluctant to untangle themselves from the other, making it abundantly clear to him exactly what happened between them.

He shakes his head. "We don't have time for this, Elena, we've got to get you somewhere safe."

At the sound of her name, Elena seems to come back to herself, stepping out of Dean's embrace. She nods, keeping her eyes firmly pinned to John, though Dean does not take his eyes off of her.

She clears her throat. "Dean, I left my phone in the car."

He nods. "Right, of course, here." He hands her his keys.

She takes them, still without looking at him, making a hasty retreat for the door.

Once she's gone, John starts his speech, "Dean," he begins, but his eldest son is already shaking his head.

"Not now, Dad. You're right. Now is not the time or place, but I don't wanna hear whatever reasons you have for disapproving. This is between me and her."

John considers him. "Okay. I'm sending Elena to stay with Bobby for a little while. If you want to go with her, go right ahead, but I'm going after Yellow Eyes. I'm not waiting."

Dean looks at him. "Maybe we should ask Elena what she wants to do."

John shakes his head. "Dean, you don't want to know what Elena wants to do." He hesitates. "You don't know her like I do. You don't know what she's capable of."

"The hell I don't," Dean says flatly. "You're never there. You don't know what we talk about, you don't know what she's told me."

"That may be true, but I'm not talking about what Elena's said, I'm talking about what she's done, what she's willing to do."

"Don't be cryptic, spit it out."

"There's only one way to kill Alaric, Dean," John reminds him.

Sam, having entered the room just in time to hear that last exchange, speaks up.

"Where did Elena go?" he asks.

"She went to get her phone out of the car," Dean tells him, then he stops.

"That doesn't make sense, she came in here to talk to Tyler, she's had her phone with her this whole time," Sam points out, confused.

"Why did she want your keys, Dean?" John asks.

Dean does not stop to respond; he just takes off after Elena. Sam and John follow after him.

Outside, the Impala is still parked beside John's truck. The trunk is wide open, Dean's keys hanging from the lock. Elena is nowhere in sight.

"I don't get it," Dean says. "Why did she need my keys if she wasn't going to take my car?"

Sam suddenly remembers the feeling of wood beneath his fingers, earlier, before they ever entered the barn. When he had his hands on the Impala's trunk. Striding forward, he grabs a flashlight and looks at the place behind the lock, where he felt the stake before. The space is empty, but the telltale sticky gray residue of duct tape remained.

"It was in your car the whole damn time," Sam tells Dean with a disbelieving shake of his head.

John understands immediately. "The White Oak Stake."

Understanding dawns on Dean's face.

"She hid it in my car?" he says, incredulous.

"She hid it in your car before she went to Klaus Fucking Mikaelson and tried to drive a dagger into her throat," John explains grimly.

"She what?" Sam asks, horrified.

John nods. "That's how she got him to agree to let her come with us. She picked up that dagger and she tried to stab herself in the throat."

Dean shudders, horrified.

John shakes his head this time. "If Klaus hadn't stopped her, Elijah would've." He pauses, then admits begrudgingly, "But it was close. She came so fucking close. If he'd hesitated a moment longer…" he trails off.

"That's how she got you to agree to helping protect the vampires, isn't it," Sam says. "She told you she'd kill herself."

John nods stiffly. "And then Elijah and Klaus told me all about how trigger happy she was with that kinda thing." A strange smile crosses his face. "You know, she once stabbed herself in the stomach to get the upper hand on Elijah? He couldn't cross the threshold of the house she was in, she stood there with that knife in her gut until he surrendered – and then she crossed the barrier and daggered him while actively bleeding from the stomach. She was 17."

He shakes his head. "I once watched her goad a vampire into drinking from her so it would be too distracted to notice me staking the bastard." His voice goes a little hoarse here. "She nearly died."

He looks at Sam. "Nineteen-fucking-years-old."

He looks at Dean. "I told you; you don't know what that girl's made of."

Dean looks back at him, unflinching. "I knew," he says evenly.

"What?" John's voice is dangerously soft.

"She didn't tell me any details," Dean admits freely. "But she said," he pauses here, looking for her exact words. "She said she learned that she was willing to do just about anything to gain the upper hand, that uh, 'when everyone else cares more about your life than you do, it's not hard.' That's what she said."

Dean gives his father a hard look.

"I know her."

And Sam figures that might be better than any I love you he's ever heard.

"So where did she go?" John asks, challenging him.

"That's the wrong question, Dad," Dean replies. "The real question is, what's she done to stop us from following her?"

Sam does a quick once over of the vehicles. "Everything looks intact." He shakes his head. "She didn't even take most of her stuff with her, just her purse and the stake."

"She even left the painting," John points out.

Dean checks under the hood while John looks at all of the tires.

"No sign of sabotage on either vehicle," Dean concludes a few moments later.

"So, Dad's right?" Sam asks, confused. "We just need to figure out where she went to go after her?"

Dean shakes his head. "No, that just means we don't know how she's going to stop us." Then he adds. "Besides, I know where she'll go first, and she knows that."

That's when they hear the sirens. Before they can blink, the parking lot is full of cop cars and an officer is reading them their Miranda rights.

AN: Chapter title taken from Rev 22:20 by Puscifer. *Ahem* listen it's just a good song okay. Also you can't really have vampires without sex, it's an unwritten law. Also I just really like the line that I used for the title. This song is also just really appropriate for Petrovas and has been used on a thousand Katherine mixes. Petrovas just fucking get to you, man.

THERE THEY FINALLY KISSED! I did promise y'all the slowest slow burn to ever slow burn, and gdi, I delivered!

Notes/References:

In reality if Sam was gonna take the subway to Brooklyn he'd have to go to a different subway station, the one at Port Authority doesn't run the Q train. I just figured I'd be nice and alter reality for him so that he doesn't have to brave the mean streets of NYC all on his own. Brooklyn on the other hand? You're on your own, kid. The irony is that I am much more comfortable navigating NYC proper than Brooklyn, but Jeremy just had to go to Pratt Institute, and their main campus is in Brooklyn, tough luck, Sammy!

I do not play video games, so I asked my best friend who is a gamer what game she thought Dean and Jeremy would play together! After much serious thought she came up with GTA.

They're at the Prince Street Café in Lancaster, it's my favorite! I had to commute to Lancaster for work for awhile and I had breakfast there almost every day. They have excellent mochas.

Fun fact, the area code they show in the show is a real area code for Colorado but it doesn't include Denver, I just wanted an excuse to bring up the mysterious Gilbert family friends Jeremy stayed with.

Gently Raised = an emphasis on manners and courtesy from an early age. Your average southern housewife would be offended by a guest who refused a meal and/or refused polite chit-chat.

Snow on the ground in July is rare even in the Colorado mountains, but I did find an article from 2019 where it did happen. The article was detailing exactly how many years since it had happened, but this is fiction, lol. Plus there is snow still on the ground in the episode! Actually it's snowing in the background as they break in which is definitely not possible, lol.

Elkins' journal dates back to the 60s in the show but since this story is set in 2018 not 2006 I added a decade.

I've always intended to hijack the vampire episode for my Elena plot, I just did not realize I'd end up going off plot so quickly! But Evil!Ric compelled Elkins so there was no reason for the cabin being a mess like in canon.

If only Sam had taken the time to learn more about Isobel Fleming…

It is not at all canon that Samantha Gilbert was a painter or that she went to Whitmore, however the knitting needle lobotomy is canon!

This story John tells Sam about their college funds is actually at a different place in the episode, but I moved it because I knew it still needed to take place for John and Sam's relationship arc despite the fact that I…killed all the vampires before they could try to hunt Dean lol :P

I just think it's really funny to imagine Elena giving Damon dead man's blood every time he pissed her off, okay. Literally that's the only reason I kept that bit of lore.

So yeah, when I remembered the main vampire from this episode looks an awful lot like pilot!era Damon (shaggy black hair, black leather jacket, jeans and a white t-shirt) I knew I had to do something with it. The opportunity to do doppelgangers but with a seriously gruesome twist? Could not resist.

When I finally got to the kiss scene I realized something kind of sad: there is just no way to live up to 8 years worth of waiting, so, fuck it, we ball! We got there, they finally kissed, you're welcome lmao.

If you are wondering, this week's outtake is the specific moment John is thinking of when he tells Dean that he doesn't know what Elena is willing to do to gain the upper hand. He tells them about what he's heard secondhand here, but trust me, Tupelo is burned into his memory.

Yup, the White Oak Stake's been in Dean's car this entire time. Elena already knew she intended to leave with the Winchesters, so she took a gamble. And it just amused me personally, imagining it in the back with all of Dean's own weapons.

Oh Dean, don't you just hate being right? lmao

I will try to have the next chapter up next week, but I promise I am working on editing it daily!

Thoughts? Questions? Please leave a review!

xoxo

-Pixie