A/N Birthday update 🥳 Hope you enjoy xoxo

LOCKWOOD MANSION

Mason jogged towards the door, opening it with his usual handsome grin, until he realized who stood before him, "Aella?"

Aella glared up at him, "Are you happy with yourself?"

Mason glanced away from her furious eyes; he'd been happy until it got later and later, and Liz failed to return his calls. "Is he dead?"

Aella laughed without any humor at his monotone, "Do you not care you've just ruined a handful of lives with your little stunt?"

Mason straightened, "So he's alive. Is Liz dead?"

Aella was overwhelmed by the lack of feeling from him, "What the hell happened to you?" Her eyes glistened as she glared at him, "Where's my Mayo? The amazing guy who would do anything to protect all life rather than hurt anyone."

"That Mason is dead, Aella," Mason flatly told her. "He died when he killed his best friend and became a monster."

"No," Aella shook her head furiously. "That was all, Katherine! Just because you've become a werewolf doesn't mean you've become a monster. I know you."

"You knew a chubby kid who babysat an annoying kid," Mason spat. "I only put up with your crap because your grandmother paid me double what other parents were asking. You were just easy money." Aella didn't believe him, though his words tore at her heart. Before she could say anything, Mason continued, "And why should I trust you about knowing what is a monster and what isn't? You're dating one and friends with another!"

"This is Katherine, Mason," Aella cried, drawing her bottom lip between her teeth. "This is what she's making you feel. Me and Tyler know you are anything but a monster. Please, Mason, Katherine is messing with your mind."

Mason's pupil's flared, "Kathy is not the Katherine you're speaking about. Kathy has been there sinc-"

"-Since you turned?" Aella interrupted him; her tears stopped as her expression hardened. "What a coincidence. Is she the one that convinced you to come home? To look for the moonstone? Even now, is Kathy pushing you to find the moonstone? Bet she won't be happy with your actions today."

She wasn't. When Mason had met with her, Kathy had been furious with his actions. But he wouldn't admit that to Aella, just as he wouldn't admit to the teenager that Kathy had become even more annoyed with his failure to locate the moonstone.

Aella suddenly reached into her pocket, "Well, if you're so sure Kathy is not Katherine Pierce..." She took his hand and slammed something hard into it. In amazement, Mason realized he was holding the moonstone as Aella finished, "Prove me wrong, Mason. Prove us all wrong."

Without another word Aella, stomped away towards Stefan, who had anxiously watched throughout her entire conversation with Mason. As she got into the car, Stefan stared at Mason, who still stood in the door, eyes not moving from the stone that lay in his hand. "Are you sure about this?"

Aella clicked in her seatbelt as Stefan began driving again, "I know, Mason. Even with Katherine whispering in his head, I know he'll do the right thing." Holding tightly onto the necklace Stefan had given her, she whispered to herself, "I know he'll make the right decision."

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE

Caroline was off the couch and running into Aella's arms as soon as she heard the door open. Aella held her tightly, "I'm sorry it took us a little longer, I had-"

"-It doesn't matter," Caroline held her a little too tight. "I'm just happy you're here."

As Stefan passed them, he squeezed her shoulder in comfort as Aella pulled back slightly to look up at her. "How are you? How's Liz?"

Instead of letting Aella go, Caroline awkwardly shuffled them towards the sitting room. Aella was happy to go along with it. "Damon says it'll take three days tops for the vervain to leave her system," Caroline told her, and when they reached the couch, the two fell onto it, and Caroline held onto Aella again. "Maybe even sooner."

Aella looked into Caroline's eyes, noticing the redness around them, "Now tell me how you are."

Caroline flipped her body, so her head was resting on Aella's lap. When Aella didn't get the clue, the blonde reached up and moved her best friend's hand to her head, and motioned her to stroke it. Aella proceeded to do so, her mouth curved into a slight grin, "Is that better?"

"Mmhm," Caroline nodded, getting herself comfy. She was quiet for a few minutes, and Aella let her go at her own pace. "She hates me."

Tears pricked at Aella's eyes at Caroline's words, "She doesn't, C. She's just in a state of total shock."

"You didn't see her eyes glance between me and her gun, Aella," Caroline began silently crying. "Or when she begged Damon to kill her instead of living with knowing her daughter is a monster."

Aella stopped stroking and roughly pulled Caroline up, so their faces directly faced each other's, "Don't you ever call yourself that again!" Aella furiously shook her head as Caroline went to argue, placing her hand on the blonde's lips. "Never. You will never be a monster, okay?" Caroline didn't answer, but the blonde's eyes went down to her mouth that Aella held shut. Quickly Aella moved her hand, "Sorry, but deal?"

Caroline rolled her eyes, "Deal."

Aella let Caroline return to her lap with an arrogant smile. "And how's Damon?"

Once again, Caroline was quiet as she thought of the vampire that was currently with her mom, "He's hurt." She finally told Aella. "She was one of his only real friends, and now she hates him."

Determined, Aella stood up and pulled Caroline up with her, "Let's go see the Sheriff."

As much as Caroline did not want to, she knew Aella would not take no for an answer and followed.

They reached the stairs as they heard Damon's voice, "-It's not exactly the Ritz, but it's secure. Brought you a good thread count. And once the vervains worked its way out of your system, I will compel you, you will forget everything, and you will be a free woman."

Aella went to take a step down when Liz's voice drafted up to them, and Caroline pulled her to a stop, "-Can you keep Caroline far away from me, please? I don't wanna see her."

Aella paled as she turned to Caroline and saw the hurt on her best friend's face. She opened her mouth to comfort her when Damon, to both their surprise, argued for Caroline, "-She's your daughter, Liz."

"-Not anymore. My daughter's gone."

Caroline used her vamp speed to run before Aella could say anything, breath shuddering; she stomped down the stairs to hear Damon say to Liz, "You have no idea how wrong you are about that."

Aella stormed into the cell, lip-snarling as she faced Liz, "Are you fucking kidding?!"

Liz sat up straight at her appearance, "Aella, I-"

"No," Aella held up a hand to her. "You don't speak, not after what your daughter just had to hear." Liz's eyes glanced up the stairs, "Yeah." Aella snorted, "She heard it all. You just lost the best thing that ever happened to you." Aella applauded her.

"-Aella."

"Don't Damon," Aella pointed at him, eyes not leaving Liz's tearful one. "Who the hell cares if she's a vampire?! She is still the amazing woman you created. She is still the best friend anyone would wish for, and I am so, so lucky to have. And she is still your daughter, the child you promised to protect with all your might."

Liz wiped her falling tears, watching Aella do the same, "Aella. You just don't understand."

Aella scoffed, "No, it's you who doesn't understand! Damon, Stefan, Anna, Caroline, they're not the monsters you've been told about. There is so much more to them than what you've been told. What the council have been told." Liz's eyes widened, and Aella laughed humorlessly, "Yeah, we know about them. But your little council isn't so innocent either." Aella crouched down before Liz, "Let's start with Papa Gilbert and the orphan he took in..."

"-Aella." It was Stefan, not Damon, who said her name, having obviously come down. But she ignored him like she had Damon.

A flame appeared in her fingers with a flick of her wrist, and Liz gasped, shuffling herself against the wall in fear. "Yeah, Papa Gilbert didn't mention this, did he?"

Liz's tears fell down her face, "Not you too."

"Yes, me too," Aella nodded, lips pressed firmly together. She clicked her fingers, so the flame disappeared. "What does your little council think about witches? Do we deserve to be burnt at the stake like the last council did with my ancestors?" Aella stood and began pacing, "He knew, you know. Dr. Gilbert knew what I was and didn't expose me; in fact, he trained me.

"And then there's your precious, John Gilbert. Did you know he's Elena's biological father?" The comment was made so casually Liz wasn't too sure if she'd heard Aella right. "Yup! Golden boy John Gilbert had a child, who is a doppelgänger, and even better, the woman who gave birth to Elena is actually a vampire." She laughed down at Liz, "What a coincidence. But John wouldn't go back to his ex knowing she was the same monster he's proudly been killing since he was a teenager, right?" Aella glanced at Damon and Stefan, who watched her intently with arms crossed, never looking more so like brothers than at that moment, "C'mon guys, you know the answer to this one. Nope? Wrong! The answer is wrong, Liz! John Gilbert has not only kept in contact with his vampire ex for the last seventeen years, but he also directed her to the vampire so she could be turned into one." Aella bent down in front of Liz, "Now, that doesn't sound like he's been following the rules."

"Aella, please," Liz begged tearfully.

"No," Aella grimaced. "No, you do not make me feel bad when you just broke the heart of the one person in this stupid town that kept me alive." Her hand shook as she pointed furiously at Liz, "You don't get to talk when you abandon your daughter the moment you realized she was different. God, Liz," Aella cried out, roughly wiping her tears, "You were the person we could always go to when we missed our moms. Elena, Bonnie, me. Our moms were gone, and you were always there for us, and because you find out we're different are you going to abandon us like you did Caroline? Because if you can do it to your own flesh and blood, you can do it to the three pathetic girls that looked up to you!"

It was silent as Liz processed Aella's emotive words, painfully staring at the girl she'd watched grow into a beautiful woman beside her own daughter. Then, finally, Aella stood and looked down at Liz one final time, "Damon will compel you, and you'll forget this conversation happens. But we won't. Caroline will forget for the sake of living some type of normal life with you, but she won't forgive, and neither will I. Because the moment you abandoned your daughter, you abandoned me too."

She turned and walked up the stairs, "Have fun thinking that over for the next three days."

LOCKWOOD PROPERTY

Mason selected Kathy's number and held the phone to his ear when it began ringing. When the call connected, he felt unnerved when Kathy didn't answer with a typical 'hi' but with: "Don't tell me you've messed up even more."

Mason held back a scathing reply and simply told her, "I've got it. I've got the moonstone."

Kathy was silent for a moment, "Oh, you clever, clever man. You're amazing." Mason felt a little sick as his heart jumped at her praise, "Where is it?"

"I'm about to put it somewhere safe," He told her, hating how much Aella's words had affected him.

He could hear the pout in Kathy's voice as she rasped, "Don't you trust me?"

"I just think it'll be best hidden until it's needed," Mason lied. He placed the moonstone in his pocket as he picked up a similar stone he'd found in one of Carol's stupid collections. "I'm taking it out there now."

"I can come with," Kathy countered, and her words made Mason feel off. "I'm not too far away."

"No, it's fine," Mason shook his head as he left the house and began walking through the woods. "I'm on my way now. No need to ruin your night."

Kathy was silent once again, this time long enough for Mason to check his phone to see if she'd hung upon him. When he saw the phone was still connected, he swallowed heavily, "I love you."

Kathy's words were not as strong as she responded, "I love you too, Mason."

Ending the call, Mason continued on. Knowing Kathy was his Kathy and not the Katherine person Aella had been so insistent on. He knew Aella was going to be proven wrong.

He just knew it.

He knew it.

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE

"I'm here, I'll always be here," Aella whispered against Caroline's head as she sobbed in her lap. Kissing the blonde's head, she promised, "I'll never leave you, Caroline. I swear, I will never leave you."

Caroline wiped her tears as she looked up at her best friend, "We'll always have each other."

"No doubt," Aella brushed Caroline's tears away. Then, kissing her forehead, Aella began to sing, "Because I'm not ashamed to say..."

Caroline laughed tearfully as Aella sang the last few words as she got off the bed quickly, "Don't tell me you're about to sing that stupid song."

Aella tossed one of Stefan's combs as she held her brush to her mouth, "I hope it always will stay this way. My hat is off, won't you stand up and take a bow."

Caroline reluctantly stood on Stefan's bed and pointed to Aella as she sang, "And when we both get older, with walking canes and hair of grey. Have no fear, even though it's hard to hear I will stand real close and say:"

Aella laughed as she joined Caroline standing on the bed as they both sang together, "Thank you for being a friend. Thank you for being a friend. Thank you for being a friend. Thank you for being a friend."

Caroline turned to Aella, "And when we die and float away. Into the night, the Milky Way."

Aella faced her, "You'll hear me call as we ascend. I'll see you there, then once again."

In a style that was very ABBA-ish, the two put their backs against each other and sang out, "Thank you for being a... Thank you for being a friend."

"Finish it off, C," Aella elbowed her, and Caroline beautifully sang out the final line softly, "Thank you for being a friend."

Falling onto the bed, the two girls giggled at their mini-concert. Caroline snuggled close to Aella and whispered against her arms, "Thank you for being my person, Aella."

Aella kissed Caroline's head gently as she whispered back, "Thank you for being mine."

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When Caroline had fallen asleep, exhausted with the day, Aella left her on Stefan's bed. Running down the stairs, she ran into the kitchen to get a soda, but not before catching Stefan and Damon quietly drinking together in the library. About to return upstairs to use Stefan's delicious bath, there was a knock at the door.

Frowning, Aella moved towards the door and was surprised when she saw who was standing there.

"You were right," Mason simply told her, his eyes dead as he gave her back the moonstone. "I'm so sorry, Aella. You were right." Aella didn't ask what she was right about, as a tear fell from Mason's eyes. "She's the reason I killed Jimmy, isn't she?"

Sadly Aella nodded, and another tear fell from Mason's eye. Finally, Aella couldn't watch anymore; she stepped forward and pulled Mason into a firm hug, "I'm sorry, Mason." Aella rubbed his back, noticing Damon and Stefan approached them. "I'm so sorry."