MYSTIC FALLS WOODS

Stefan made his way through the woods to where Caroline had asked him to meet. As he pushed through the final trees, he saw Caroline pacing in the open space, his brows furrowed at the human behavior. "Caroline?"

The blonde vampire jumped in surprise, another action that had Stefan weary. What could have made her so anxious that she didn't hear his approach?

"Stefan!" Caroline sighed in frustration. "I told you not to do that anymore."

Amused, Stefan stepped closer, "That was when you were human. I didn't think it was possible to do so since then... apparently, I was wrong. What's got you so distracted?"

Caroline's eyes widened, "Distracted?" The exact thing Elena had asked her to do to Stefan and Aella. "Pfft! I'm not distracted. Where's Aella?"

Stefan leaned his body on a nearby tree, Caroline's words not removing any concerns he had for the blonde. "I told you earlier, she's with Bonnie. Are you sure you're okay, Caroline?"

"I'm fine!" She exclaimed, happy at the direct question.

Yes, she was fine. But, Elena? Elena might not be as fine if Katherine had anything to do with it. However, Stefan hadn't asked about Elena; he asked about her, which meant she didn't have to lie. She only had to distract.

Then, Caroline frowned; if she was okay, Stefan would ask about something else or someone else. Possibly Elena, after her hissy fit following the meeting this morning. When she saw Stefan's mouth open to say something, she jumped forward with concern on her face and an idea brewing in her mind, "Actually, I'm not okay."

Stefan's face contorted with sympathy. If Caroline wasn't trying to manipulate the vampire right now, she would scoff at how predictable he was. "I'm worried about Tyler."

Stefan glanced around, "Is he okay?"

Caroline let out a heavy sigh as she moved over to a fallen tree and took a seat on it, Stefan following suit. "He seemed really freaked out, and honestly, I felt kind of bad for him, so I talked to him, and then that makes me feel bad because I'm just as new to this as he is, and I start worrying about myself which then makes me worry about Tyler thinking I don't care...." Her eyes were wide as she turned to Stefan mid-rant, not realizing how much of this was on her chest, "How am I suddenly the one person everyone needs comforting them? I am now the reliable one, Stefan. I was never the reliable one; I was the selfish one!"

"Caroline," Stefan chuckled, placing his hand on her lips to stop her talking. "You're one of the least selfish people I know. I mean, who else would love Aella as much as I do? Protect her as much as I do? Care for her as much as I do?" He removed his hand from her mouth when he saw she was listening, "You remind me so much of Lexi sometimes."

"Lexi?" Caroline questioned through a small smile. "Sexy Lexi? Your best friend in the whole world, Lexi?"

Stefan rolled his eyes, ignoring the nickname Aella had created for his oldest friend, "Yes."

Not knowing how she had gone from distracting Stefan to genuinely being open to hearing how she reminded him of Lexi, Caroline softly asked, "Will you tell me about Lexi?" She knew Stefan missed her, even if she was only a phone call away, "How we're alike?"

Stefan simply nodded, happiness in his eyes as he began talking about his best friend. But, as he spoke, a tightness began in Caroline's stomach. Stefan would soon know she'd asked to meet him here to distract him until Elena was done with Katherine. She also knew that using Lexi as a distraction would really damage their friendship. A friendship she didn't know how much she doted on until she had just realized she may lose it.

MYSTIC GRILL

"So..." Bonnie swirled her fries in ketchup as she summarized what Aella had told her. "Klaus is looking for a doppelgänger after Katherine decided to kill herself. Elijah -who is dead now- was connected, but we're not sure if he told Klaus, and he now knows if there is another living doppelgänger?"

Aella, who had decided to have a portion of onion rings to herself and the Mystic Burger, nodded happily with half an onion ring in her mouth, "Yep! Sounds crazy, right?"

Bonnie took a sip of her soda as she shook her head in disbelief, "I just can't believe after you dealt with Katherine, something else has reared its ugly head."

Aella scoffed, "I wouldn't say, 'ugly head,' if Klaus looks anything like Elijah...."

The sentence went unfinished, but from the look in Aella's eyes, Bonnie could see Elijah, while evil, was hella hot. She let out a brief laugh before her tone became solemn, "I'm sorry I wasn't here to help."

The burger moving to Aella's mouth stilled as her eyes met Bonnie's, "I am too." She placed the burger down, suddenly realizing that all the avoidance techniques in the world wouldn't be able to avert the conversation that needed to happen between the cousins. "Why did you do it?"

Bonnie laughed bitterly; she pushed her plate away, suddenly feeling full, "Now that is a loaded question. Why did I do all I did and then ran away like a coward? I wish I could answer that question and all the others you are so right to ask of me...." Bonnie paused, trying not to blurt out unnecessary words, "At the end of the day, I was jealous." Aella's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to respond; however, Bonnie quickly halted her by holding her hand, and her cousin listened for once. "I was jealous, but none of it -none of it- was your fault, believe me." Bonnie laughed tearfully, looking anywhere else but at her cousin as she opened her heart, "All I saw was this powerful girl who could face monsters, who could stand toe to toe with evil and win, who was so much stronger than I was and I hated it." A tear fell down her face as she admitted, "I hated you."

Aella winced, and it killed Bonnie to see the hurt in her cousin's eyes, "You were right, Aella." Bonnie continued as she wiped her face. "In the hospital...."

"That's where you're so wrong, Bonnie. Grams being in that cave and nearly using up her magic was on you; you begged her to come, and she did. Caroline, being hurt wasn't because vampires were attacking; it's because Tyler was affected by the device that you lied about turning off, and he crashed his car. The same Tyler that is now fatherless because he was also affected by the device believed to be a vampire and was killed... And because of you, my best friend was on death's doorstep, and it was the vampires that saved her."

"Bonnie," Aella whispered tearfully. "I didn't mean it, I-"

"-You were right," Bonnie interrupted Aella from continuing, nodding firmly so Aella could see how strongly she believed what she was saying. "Grams, Caroline, Tyler, the Mayor... I have to live with the consequences of my actions. To make amends to the people I hurt because of some pathetic jealousy."

When Aella's hand laid down on her's, Bonnie looked up to see that her cousin was crying as much as she was and took comfort when Aella squeezed their joined hands, "I get it, Bonnie," Aella tried to comfort her. What Bonnie had just admitted was a big thing. She didn't need anything negative now; she needed to be consoled. That's what friends did. That's what family did. "I really get it. Do you think my sarcasm and the blatant disregard of powerful figures come naturally?" Aella laughed tearfully, smiling when Bonnie joined her. "Mystic Falls was my home away from home, you know? Then overnight, it became my only home, and I was surrounded by these loving families, families where parents were alive. Not decaying in some cold morgue. So when you speak of this sudden jealousy with people you know and love, I get it, Bon Bon. I really get it."

"You really do," Bonnie sobbed out, and Aella moved to the seat next to Bonnie and pulled her cousin into a proper hug. "I'm so sorry, Aella." Bonnie continued to sob into her cousin's shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Aella soothed her, kissing Bonnie's forehead. Because it was okay, they had a long road to go down, especially with Sheila's health. But for now, Bonnie and Aella, they were okay.

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE

Rose tried to stifle her cries; she'd gone into the library for a distraction from her thoughts when she saw Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. It was Trevor's favorite book; he had kept his original copy from 1652 until he lost it when they were on the run from Klaus in the 1800s.

Turning to a very familiar page, she tearfully read out a quote she knew so well, "'Too much sanity may be madness. And maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be.'"

"All right, Rosebud, I need some answers...." Damon paused as he strolled into the library and groaned when he saw the tears on her face. "Oh, please don't tell me you're crying 'cause your buddy Trevor lost his head."

Rose closed the book and delicately placed it back on the shelf before she turned to glare at Damon, "You've always been this sensitive?"

"Full vampire switch for this very reason," Damon casually answered. "Takes the emotion out of it."

Rose plucked a tissue from the box and began dabbing at her wet eyes, "Yeah, you switch yours, I'll switch mine."

Damon raised a well-tweezed brow, "Is that a dig?"

"It's an observation," Rose scoffed at his hypocrisy as she avoided the light to sit on one of the many couches. "Being in love with your ex's doppelgänger must be difficult."

Damon's chin jutted out, "I'm not in love with anyone."

Rose's lips quirked at the blatant lie, "You want to try that again?"

Damon moved in front of her before bending down close to her face, a snarl on his lips, "Don't get on my bad side."

Rose moved closer, something Damon was not expecting, as she whispered playfully, "Then show me your good side."

Damon quickly moved to the other side of the room, "How do I find Klaus?"

"You don't find Klaus," Rose laid back on the comfy couch. "He finds you."

"Come on," Damon groaned out loud. Why couldn't this ever be just simple? "Somebody's got to know somebody who knows where he is, right?"

Rose shrugged, "Add another two hundred somebodies to that, and you're still not even close."

Damon moved to the back of the couch and looked down at her with a soft smile, "Humor me. You got in touch with Elijah; how did you do it?"

Rose's eyes remained on the smile for a few seconds before she let out a deep breath and sat back up, "Through a very low somebody on the totem pole. A guy named Slater in Richmond."

Damon's eyes lit up, "Perfect. I'll drive."

"No," Rose began panicking as she followed Damon through the house, his attention on the phone in his hand. "You forget not all of us can do sun."

"Then you drive," Damon simply advised, tossing her the car keys as he put the phone to his ear. "But first, we have to pick up someone." Before Rose could question who, his call connected, "Pixie! Fancy a road trip?"

Rose rolled her eyes as she heard the witch not question Damon but immediately say yes, that girl had a death wish. When he hung up the phone, Rose asked the question she had been thinking, "Why are we bringing the witch?"

Damon pulled on his leather jacket, "Because as annoying as she is, she's the best backup anyone can have."

When he strolled away, Rose muttered to herself, "Full vampire switch my arse."

MYSTIC GRILL

Bonnie left the bathroom, finally happy that no one could tell she had been crying. Aella had left after a call from Damon that, for the first time, Bonnie didn't mind her leaving for. A road trip sounded so much better than going back home after such an emotional meet-up, but first, she needed to pick up food for Grams.

Her head was still in the clouds as she walked past another table when she heard her name being called and she stopped to see the new guy from school, sitting at the table with an older man.

"Hey, Luka," Bonnie smiled, thankful she remembered his name. "How was your first day?"

Luka smiled gratefully, obviously as happy as her at her remembering his name. "It was great. I would like to introduce you to my dad."

Bonnie held her hand out to his dad, "Hi, I'm Bonnie Bennett."

"Doctor Martin, Jonas Martin," Luka's dad introduced himself, and Bonnie raised a brow at his title. "It's nice to meet you, Bonnie Bennett. We just ordered a few minutes ago; we could add to that order if you'd like to join us?"

Bonnie smiled gratefully at him but shook his head, "Thank you, but I've just finished eating with my cousin. But I don't mind chatting until your food comes? Then I have to go and order something for my grandmother."

Anything to delay having to go home.

"Oh yes," Luka quickly agreed to her offer. "Please have a seat."

Bonnie sat next to Luka and looked between him and his dad, "So, where did you move from?"

"Louisiana," Dr. Martin answered for them, and Bonnie's eyes widened.

"That's a big change."

Luka scoffed, glancing at his dad before looking back to Bonnie, "I'll say."

Bonnie shrugged a shoulder, "It's not so bad here."

It was a small white lie, but when Luka smiled at her, it was worth it, "It's looking up."

"Bennett, huh?" Dr. Martin queried out loud a few minutes later, missing the looks shared between Bonnie and his son. "I knew some Bennetts when I did my residency in Massachusetts. Do you have any family from Salem?"

Bonnie's head was nodding before her brain could tell her not to answer, "Actually, I do."

Dr. Martin's eyes seemed to gleam at her answer, "What do you know? Small world, right?"

Suddenly, Bonnie felt uncomfortable, and when she saw food coming their way, she stood up, "Looks like that's your food. It was nice to meet you, Dr. Martin."

Luka's dad didn't reply; he just smiled at her while Luka brightly said, "I will see you at school."

"Yeah," she nodded, suddenly wanting to be anywhere but there. She squeezed Luka's shoulder as a goodbye when she felt a jolt go through her body. As she walked away from the two, she was glad to be getting further and further away.