THE LAKE HOUSE

"Jeremy broke his arm there when he was six," Elena pointed out to Stefan as the four of them sat on the dock.

Aella sat on Stefan's lap, wrapped snugly in his arms and a blanket, while Jenna and Elena shared a bench and a large blanket to keep them warm.

Aella snorted at the memory, "He had us all write on his cast and then write made-up names in different handwriting, so it looked like he had loads of friends."

Jenna giggled into her hot chocolate, "I thought Miranda was going to march him to the hospital for a new cast."

Stefan was confused, so Aella explained, "We got bored and started thinking of dirty names."

Elena laughed loudly, "Ben Dover was his favorite. Mom was so mad."

"It was the only time Vicki was nice to us," Aella snickered at the memory. "We were at Matt's, and she was there with her friends. They kept saying these names our parents would murder us for saying...."

"...So we got Jeremy to say them instead." Elena finished, the memory so fresh in her mind. "He got away with it because he was so cute."

Jenna nodded in agreement, unable to stop laughing, "It also helped that the cast came off a day before school started back. God knows what the teachers would have said when he declared Mike Hunt was his best friend." Her phone rang, "Speaking of teachers...." She answered the call, "Hi, hunny."

Aella smirked into Stefan's shoulder, "She should have answered the phone, 'Mike Hunt speaking.'"

A smile appeared on Stefan's face for a second until his eyes darted to Jenna, who turned towards Aella, her phone out for her to take, "Ric needs to talk to you."

"Oh, god." Aella pulled herself up and muttered, "Please be about my awesome yet slightly copyrighted essay." Stefan raised a brow, obviously hearing it, and Aella waved him off, "So I added a few motivational quotes from Full House; Joey really can sound quite Hardyesque, so sue me." She grabbed the phone from Jenna, "Hello, favorite teacher of mine."

Stefan listened in and let out a low groan as Aella shouted at Ric, "Damon did what?!"

Elena rolled her eyes as Aella stomped towards the house, "What's he done now?"

Stefan got up, folding the blanket neatly, "Damon decided to introduce himself to Elijah." Jenna and Elena groaned. Before Stefan followed Aella, he just smiled and answered, "Exactly."

When he reached the house, Aella was finishing the call. She was sitting on the bed in the bedroom just off the kitchen, rubbing the space between her eyebrows in circular movements, "Okay. Thanks for letting me know, Ric."

Stefan leaned against the door frame, "How bad is it?"

Aella's eyes remained closed, "Do you mind if we move here permanently?"

"That bad?" Stefan pushed himself off the door frame and moved to sit next to Aella. Her head fell perfectly between his neck and shoulder, and he rubbed her back.

"Mhhm," Aella whined, shuffling so his rubbing moved to particular spots. "That's not bad." The movement seemed to ease some of her strength as she told him, "Damon decided to show Elijah he wasn't afraid of him, and Elijah stabbed him in the neck with a pencil." Stefan's rubbing stopped, and Aella quickly added, "He's okay. His ego got taken down a notch, but he's okay."

The rubbing resumed to her delight as Stefan admitted, "I want to say I'm shocked...."

Aella groaned, "This is the reason we came out here. Stupid egotistical vampires who want to prove you wrong and decide to piss off the wrong vampire." She jumped up and began pacing, "Not just your everyday vampires, an Original vampire who can't die!"

Stefan quickly got up and pulled her into his arms, "You knew Damon would do something like this."

"Doesn't make it any better," Aella whined into his sweater-covered chest. She picked at the wool and sadly admitted, "I just wanted one night."

Stefan lifted her chin so their faces were inches apart, "Ric's with him, right?" Aella nodded, "Then the only person he listens to, other than you when you cause him pain, is with him." Aella's lips pursed in thought, so Stefan continued, "It's like you said, Damon's ego was hit tonight; he usually drinks that off with a couple of bottles of bourbon before he comes up with his next stupid plan."

Aella's arms encircled his neck as she nodded, "He did treat himself to Old Forester's last week at the supermarket. He likes to savor that one no matter how pissed off he is."

"See," Slowly, Stefan leaned in, and after catching her eyes quickly as though making sure this was ok, he closed the gap between them and kissed her softly, moving back towards the bed. "We still can have a nice quiet evening."

After a short moment, Stefan pulled away almost as though to gauge her reaction; Aella's eyes flickered open, and she smiled softly at him, her heart pounding as one of Stefan's hands drifted up to cup her cheek and gently traced her lips. "It's been a while since we did this."

Leaning in again, Stefan covered her mouth with his, letting one hand run down her back to settle in the curve of her waist as he deepened the kiss. Aella smiled against his mouth, her hands resting on his chest, reveling in the feel of his muscles beneath his sweater as he pulled her body closer to his. After a few minutes, they pulled apart breathlessly, resting their foreheads against one another and smiling stupidly as Aella breathlessly whispered, "Why haven't we done this for a while?"

"Because I was a fool," Stefan told her with a murmur, their lips only millimeters from one another. "I was a stupid fool who didn't trust you."

"About time you realized," Aella breathed out before kissing him again.

"I'm an idiot," Stefan simply told her, lifting her a fraction before laying her gently on the bed. He ran a finger down her neck and felt a shiver run through her. "Forgive me?"

"When you kiss me like that, I'll always forgive you," Aella told him, her eyes glowing as she noticed how he watched her mouth move.

"Have mercy," he mumbled, silencing her laugh as he leaned forward and pulled her closer, closing the gap between them once more.

"-Aella! Can you bring some jackets out!"

Aella pulled back from Stefan disappointedly as Elena's voice echoed from the front door. Stefan's body fell onto Aella's as his face groaned into the sheets above her shoulder.

"Okay!" Aella yelled back before muttering, "That's probably karma for making out on her parent's bed." She tapped Stefan's back, "C'mon, Casanova."

Stefan just rolled off her as Aella jumped up and went to where the coats hung. "Are you going to be pretending to be human tonight and wear a jacket, or-" She was halted when she ran into what felt like a wall but was, in fact, her boyfriend's chest. Her eyes opened as her mouth curved into a nostalgic smile, "Now, this feels familiar."

Stefan smirked, also remembering the moment they first 'met.' "The moment my life changed forever," he smoothly whispered, leading her back again, this time into the closet. "I'm not done with you yet."

Aella smirked, teasing his lips with hers, "Well, I am a natural, beautiful pres-ugh!" Aella suddenly stumbled back over a pair of boots. Before Stefan could open his eyes, she was flailing her arms as she fell back into the closet, and what followed wasn't the typical noise of a body hitting the ground; more like a body breaking something.

Without hesitation, Stefan reached down to help her, asking, "Are you okay?"

But Aella's hands quickly batted his away, and she rolled onto her knees and examined the broken wall. Her eyes scanned upwards, and her heart skipped a beat as she saw the door handle and squealed, "It's a secret door."

They suddenly heard footsteps as Jenna and Elena followed the noise of her fall. Jenna had her eyes closed as she rounded the corner, "What's Aella broken now?"

"Broken?!" Aella exclaimed excitedly, not at all offended by Jenna's question. "I found a secret hidden door!"

Elena's brows snapped together, "A what? Where?"

Stefan easily pulled the rest of the panels off to show the very door Aella was speaking of, "It's a really good hiding place."

Jenna darted forward, "What the hell?"

"Please be a secret tunnel to a hidden treasure," Aella whispered, eyes closed and fingers crossed. "Please be a secret tunnel to a hidden treasure."

Jenna glared at her as Stefan broke the lock, "You're practically an heiress, leave the whispers of treasure to the college student in debt!"

Stefan was about to the door when Aella quickly pushed him aside, "Wait." She practically danced on the spot, "I've always wanted to do this." With a wave of her hand, she proudly recited, "Alohomora."

The door opened, and Aella squealed, "It's officially a secret magical door."

Stefan pushed her behind him, "Let me make sure the secret magical door is safe before we do anything else, okay?"

"Party pooper, Aella grimaced and watched him flip the light on, only to be greeted not by treasure or a potential safe room. No, it was a room full of weaponry for one purpose: hunting vampires.

"What?" Elena breathed out, her eyes swam with tears.

Jenna frowned, a muscle in her jaw twitched, "Why was I not expecting that?"

Aella strained to see over Stefan's shoulder, her eyes widening when she saw what everyone else had seen, "Whoa, baby!"

GILBERT HOUSEHOLD

"Are we sure we have the place to ourselves?" Caroline asked as she and Anna laid Luka down in Aella's room.

Bonnie quickly gathered the many candles Caroline and Aella had collected over the years and placed them evenly around the room.

"Uncle John is the Historical Society Tea Party," Jeremy answered, standing over Luka's body as he scrutinized the warlock. "Plus, John would never set foot in Aella's room."

Anna shivered as she stood up, "It feels wrong lying to Aella and then doing this in her room."

Bonnie finished placing the candles, "It's better to ask forgiveness than permission."

Caroline snorted, lying on Aella's bed, "That's practically Aella's life motto, anyway." She leaned over to Aella's chalk wall and wrote in the corner in tiny writing, 'We totally did magic without you today. Aw, nuts!'

Jeremy rolled his eyes at the message watching as Bonnie knelt next to Luka, "How does this work?"

"Um," Bonnie's forehead creased. "I'll put him in a trance and ask him questions. It's like hypnosis."

Anna frowned, "Are you sure you're strong enough for this?"

Bonnie's expression closed up; she was getting sick of Anna asking her that, "That's what the candles are for. I'll draw power from the flames."

"Matches," Caroline stretched over to Aella's bedside table, where she knew the witch kept them. However, Bonnie was way ahead as she closed her eyes and insisted, "I got it."

The candles flared up, and Caroline rested back on the bed with a smile, "I love that so much."

Jeremy concurred, "Never gonna get used to that."

Bonnie blushed at the praise, "I need a bowl of water."

"I'll go get it," Anna volunteered, pushing herself off Aella's wardrobe and going to the bathroom. As she walked by Jeremy, she kicked the boy, appreciating his subtlety when he didn't yelp, and casually suggested, "I'll get a bowl for you."

Jeremy rubbed his ankle when they were in the bathroom, "You're lucky I have a sister who is just as hard with her kicks."

"I'm sorry," Anna smiled softly at him. When Jeremy passed her a bowl from under the sink, she asked him, "Do you think Bonnie hates me?"

Jeremy's face twisted, "What?" He watched her fill the bowl, "How did you come up with that?"

Anna shrugged, "Just a feeling." She turned the faucet off and handed the bowl to Jeremy. "Think you can take that in without spilling any?"

"What do I get in return if I do?" Jeremy smirked.

Anna's lips spread into a genuine smile before she just walked away.

When they returned to Aella's room, Anna frowned, "Luka's heartbeat is racing."

Bonnie took the bowl from Jeremy and placed it on the floor by Luka's head. Jeremy saw Luka shifting, "Looks like he's waking up."

Bonnie dipped her hands in the water before placing them on either side of Luka's head. She shut her eyes and performed the spell non-verbally; she knew it was working when the flames of the candles flared up intensely. Luka began to breathe heavily.

The room was soundless, except for Luka's heavy breathing. Bonnie grimaced, the spell taking a more considerable toll on her than she thought it would.

Anna shared a dubious look with Caroline as the blonde asked anxiously, "How long is this gonna take?"

"I don't know," Bonnie grimaced as the sweat began to fall. "He's fighting me."

Luka began moving his head around, fighting the spell, but Bonnie's hands remained in place on either side of his head.

"Please stop. Please."

Anna's brow raised at Luka's tone, "He sounds in pain." She looked to Jeremy, who also looked to be having doubts about this plan, as he added, "Maybe we should stop?

Bonnie's teeth clenched as Luka's eyes flickered and then - stillness, "There." She smiled once Luka was in a trance, her eyes closed, "Why are you working with Elijah?"

"Klaus," Luka answered monotonously. "We both want him dead."

Jeremy raised his brow, his stare not budging from Luka as Bonnie gathered more information, "You want to kill Klaus, too. Why?"

"Because he has her, and we have to get her away from him."

"Her?" Caroline whispered, confused. "Her, who?"

"Wh-" Bonnie stuttered at the strength it was taking. "Who are you talking about?"

"My sister."

Jermey's eyes widened as he looked at Anna, "His sister?" She nodded that she, too, heard that and was also confused.

"Why does he have her?"

"He's searching for a way to undo the curse without the doppelgänger. He's forced generations of witches to help him for centuries."

Undo the curse without the doppelgänger, Bonnie frowned. Without Elena? Quickly she asked, "What has Elijah promised you?"

"If we help Elijah kill Klaus, he's promised to return her to us."

Bonnie shifted, finally, they were getting somewhere, "And how do you kill Klaus? How do you kill an Original vampire?"

Luka started to fight the spell again, "He'll kill me if I tell you. Don't make me."

Anna could hear the fear in his voice and his heartbeat, too, "We need to stop."

Jeremy nodded in agreement, "It's okay, Bonnie. We can find another way."

"No," Bonnie's face contorted, and a vein popped out her neck from the strain as she placed Luka back in a trance. "How will you kill Klaus?"

While Luka's expression remained calm, his heartbeat beat furiously as he answered, "After the sacrifice, Klaus will be vulnerable, weak. It's our only chance."

Caroline's brows drew together at a specific word in the sentence, "After the sacrifice?"

Bonnie was just as confused, "What do you mean, after?"

"Klaus will be vulnerable."

Bonnie's eyes glistened, "But Elena will be dead."

"Yes. Elena has to die."

Bonnie looked up at Jeremy as she asked one final question, "Does Aella know?"

The whole room's atmosphere shifted as Luka answered, "Yes, she agreed with the plan."

Jeremy felt sick; shaking his head, he could only whisper aghast, "No."

LOCKWOOD CELLAR

Tyler's hands brushed the chains he had attached to himself only days ago, his gaze moving to the wall where they were now more secure. But that night?

Get out! I don't want to hurt you.

Even in agony, he hadn't wanted to hurt her. Even as his bones shifted tortuously, his mind was on her first.

You're okay. You made it. You didn't get out. You're okay.

No, I'm not.

He wasn't okay. That was only the first for the rest of his life. He could hear in Mason's voice when he shared his own experience as a wolf that the pain didn't lessen; you just became used to it.

And then there was the other thing.

One bite, and it's... you know, curtains for me.

Caroline.

One bite, one accidental bite, and she would suffer the same fate as Rose.

Leaving the cellar, he made his way home.

Could a vampire and a werewolf have a relationship?

His mind wandered to another person: Aella.

You bite either of them accidentally, and her loyalty to you is gone.

Jules had used Aella as her final trump card for getting Tyler to go with them, and it was working. Every time he closed his eyes, he would see Brady exploding on him, and Aella stood there, eyes white, with a glow shimmering from her. Caroline said she looked like the angel of vengeance; Tyler could only see her as the angel of death.

He entered his home; another event was being hosted, this time the Historical Society's Tea Party. It was a blessing for once as he could escape his mother badgering him to join in and make notable connections that would seal his future. But Tyler had made his mind up, and his future did not involve anyone from the Historical Society.

Entering his room, he strode towards his desk and sat down. A piece of paper and a pen were already there; he'd placed it there under the impression it would be a note to Jules apologizing for not joining her and the pack. Instead, it would be addressed to another person.

Clicking the pen, Tyler wrote at the top: 'Mom.'