Damon and I were up early in the morning, walking into Caroline and Bonnie's dorm room with coffee ready.

Caroline and Stefan were lying in bed underneath the covers.

"Good morning, lovebirds," Damon told them.

Caroline and Stefan both covered up with the blanket.

I looked at them sheepishly. "Sorry. I so did not know that you were in the middle of something."

"That's why it's called knocking," Stefan told me.

I looked at them innocently, pointing at Damon. "I told him to knock, but you know he just likes to barge in uninvited."

Damon smirked.

Caroline looked at me in shock. "Nicola!"

I smiled a small, awkward smile, tilting my head. "Yes, I'm back. Hi, Caroline. I brought you some free-range, overpriced coffee. One cream, two sugars, just like you like it." I picked up the coffee, handing it to her. "There you go, Caroline."

Caroline took the coffee, propping herself up on one elbow, keeping herself covered. She stood, wrapping her blanket around her body modestly.

Stefan covered himself up with the sheet.

Caroline walked past us, into the bathroom to change into some clothes.

Stefan looked at Damon and me. "Is there any particular reason as to why you are barging into my girlfriend's dorm room at the crack of mid-morning?"

Damon picked up Stefan's discarded T-shirt, tossing it at him.

Stefan started to get dressed.

Damon chuckled. "Why such a Grumpy Gus? I thought you'd want to celebrate today. I finally got Elena tucked away safely. You're snuggled with Caroline in this tragically tiny bed. Nikki is here to fight the good fight with us, while maintaining a relationship with Tyler Lockwolf. And Ric? Ric saved his lady from the great beyond. Everything is coming up Salvatore, so much so that I have decided to turn over a new leaf."

Stefan rolled his eyes. "Oh, good."

"Yeah," Damon told us. "I am gonna be the man that does right by Elena, all on my own, by keeping her in my heart instead of keeping her underfoot."

I nodded. "That's interesting."

"I'm gonna need a little help with the dirty work, so rise and shine," Damon told us. "We are going to interrogate a tall, beautiful Heretic with a terrible attitude."

Caroline walked out of the bathroom, completely clothed, looking at us suspiciously. "Valerie?"

Damon nodded. "Rings a bell." Stefan and Caroline exchanged a tense look. Damon looked between them tauntingly. "Hmm. Am I missing something here? Oh, that's right. Stefan and Valerie are old flames from way back, and they haven't had a face-to-face since she came tumbling out of that prison world. Valerie as in V-card Valerie. 'Wham, bam, thank you, ma'am' broke your heart and, uh..." 

Stefan closed his eyes in embarrassment, not wanting this to be a topic of discussion. 

I hit Damon in the chest. "All right, you know what? Never mind."

Caroline gave us a look, cheerfully making her suggestion. "No, you know what? I think this would be the perfect opportunity for you two to catch up. Unless there's a reason it would be uncomfortable for you..."

Stefan looked at Caroline warily. "No."

"Great," Caroline told him. "Have fun."

Caroline walked toward the door.

I waved bye.

Caroline walked out, leaving.

I looked at Stefan, smiling awkwardly.

Damon smirked.

I gave Stefan a curious look.

Stefan sighed.

  ~~~~~~~    

We found out from Matt that Valerie had stolen his black SUV, driving along Route 9. We could hear that she was on the phone with Enzo.

"Where are you?" Enzo asked.

"Headed out to find Julian, and trying to find the directions on Oscar's stupid phone," Valerie answered. "Why doesn't anyone use real maps anymore? What's wrong with paper?"

"Well, I suggest you get a move on, because Lily and company are right behind you."

"What? That's impossible. You promised to keep Oscar quiet."

"Oh, Oscar? He doesn't remember squat. They must have tracked Julian down on their own with a locator spell or some other Heretic malarkey. Never underestimate Lily's relentless devotion to getting what she wants."

"Wait. What does it mean when the little bar thing goes all red? I... Hello?"

Damon had parked his Camaro in the way of the road she was heading to.

Valerie pulled to a stop before she could hit it.

Damon looked at Valerie sarcastically. "That's a hefty fine, young lady."

Valerie leaned out of the open window. "How did you..."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Little bird-brain said you stole his car and sped out of Mystic Falls." Valerie got out of the car. Damon walked toward her. "You did realize that by taking a deputy's SUV, that every move you made would be tracked, right?"

Valerie looked at him, unamused. "Would you kindly move your car?"

Damon pointed at his Camaro. "That car? You bet I'll move that car. But first, I need to ask you why you killed your faux-brother Oscar and framed me for the murder."

Valerie played dumb. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Damon shrugged. "You're right. I might not be 100% on my detective work. It's possible that another Heretic turned him into a desiccated corpse. I'm not sure." He turned toward his car. "I'm gonna go to my car, get my phone. I'm gonna call Lily. See if she knows."

Valerie lost her temper, thrusting her hands toward Damon, casting a pain infliction spell, making him fall to his knees and hold his head, screaming in pain. "Fine. You're a genius. What on earth made you think I wouldn't do the same to you?"

Damon gasped in pain. "Hey, we're just talking, here."

Stefan and I appeared behind her. 

"Valerie," Stefan told her.

Valerie was so surprised that she released the spell, turning to face Stefan and me.

Damon gasped in relief.

"Stefan..." Valerie trailed off.

"Valerie, this is our descendant, more like a sister, Nicola," Stefan told her. Valerie looked at me, overwhelmed. I waved sarcastically. "Quit torturing my brother and tell me exactly what's going on here."

Valerie looked at us in shock.

~~~~~~~

Stefan was driving Matt's stolen SUV.

Valerie was in the passenger seat.

Damon and I were in the backseat.

"Okay, I think I got it," I told her. "You killed Oscar because he knew how to get to Julian, but you hate Julian because he's a sadistic, depraved, no-good monster that Lily desperately wants to bring home."

Valerie rolled her eyes, unamused. "Did you ever hear of the Black Sea Massacre of 1897? Julian annihilated an entire coastline on Christmas Day, and yet Lily was still hopelessly in love with him."

Damon scoffed. "So? Stefan took out an entire village in Monterrey, and Caroline still wants him. To each their own." Stefan sighed. Damon looked from Valerie to Stefan. "Speaking of which, how did you two, um... meet?"

Stefan was clearly uncomfortable. "At the town fair."

Damon nodded. "Oh, right. That's right."

Stefan sighed in annoyance. "Mm-hmm."

"And then, you were supposed to meet after that, right?" Damon asked. "Like, under a bridge, or a tree, or a romantic park bench..."

"Will you please just shut up?" Stefan asked.

Damon ignored him, looking at Valerie, who was just as unhappy. "You know, when you didn't show, this guy wrote ten pages in his journal about how the sun would never shine as bright, and the food would never taste as sweet." Stefan rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Yes. I read them. Your hiding places were always crap." He turned to Valerie. "You really crushed the guy."

Valerie shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

Stefan gave Valerie a bitter look. "Well, she was just spying for Lily. I mean, it was all a game, wasn't it?"

Valerie looked at Stefan, breathing heavily as she tried to not look hurt and offended by this insinuation, turning to look silently out of the window.

I sighed. "Ouch." Damon leaned backed in his seat, patting Stefan affectionately on the arm. I looked at Damon, nodding sarcastically. "Yeah, no, Damon, hey, hey, keep going. This bit is, uh, absolutely hilarious."

Valerie looked overwhelmed, sighing. "No. Please stop. The only thing that matters now is that we find Julian and make sure he can't come home. So, if you're not in, spare me the car ride and let me out."

Damon shook his head. "No. Stefan is in. Nicola's in. I'm in. It's great."

I rolled my eyes. "He's... turning over a new leaf."

~~~~~~~

Stefan, Damon, Valerie and I had to stop outside of a gas station in the middle of nowhere to refill the car with gas.

I was refilling the car with gas.

Stefan was on the phone with Caroline.

"Where are you?"

"Some gas station in the middle of nowhere."

Damon was eavesdropping on their conversation, walking closer to speak to Caroline. "Don't worry Care-Bear. Nikki and I have issued a 'No Hanky-Panky' zone. No former flames will reignite on our watch. Uh-uh. No how."

I rolled my eyes in annoyance, raising my voice to call to Caroline through the phone from the gas pump. "Sorry about him, Caroline. The fumes are, uh, getting to his brain."

Caroline chuckled.

Stefan spoke to Caroline over the phone. "Hey, listen, uh, I want to take you to dinner tonight."

"Like a date? Wait. Is this because you're feeling guilty for spending the day with your ex?"

"No, it's because I realized that I haven't actually taken you out yet."

Valerie was listening in on their conversation, scowling unhappily.

I watched her warily, knowingly.

"Well, I'd love that. To be honest, I'm feeling a bit guilty for pushing you into a car with your brother, your niece/sister, and your ex, whom you clearly want nothing to do with."

"Ah. No, don't feel guilty. I... I needed a push."

"Why? What, did she make a move on you?"

"Nothing happened. I just needed to hear that our time together was a lie."

"She admitted that?"

"She didn't deny it."

"Are you okay, or whatever?"

"I will be, once you tell me what time I'm picking you up tonight."

"Eight o'clock. And, I like daisies, by the way, just in case you wanted to get my flowers."

Valerie scowled even harder at the sound of Stefan and Caroline planning their date.

"I'll see you tonight."

Stefan hung up.

Valerie grabbed a portable gas tank out of the back of the SUV, dropping it loudly in front of me. "Fill this up."

"There's more gas in the tank," I told her.

"I need an accelerant to burn Julian's body," Valerie told us.

"Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself?" Damon asked. "We haven't even killed the guy yet."

Valerie looked between us in annoyance. "Are you all really that daft? We don't need to kill him."

"What are you gonna do, charm him to death?" I asked sarcastically.

"Julian's dead," Valerie told us. "He's been dead sine 1903."

We looked at her in shock.

~~~~~~~

We arrived to a warehouse district, walking toward the nearest one.

"Why would Oscar stash Julian's body out here in the middle of nowhere when he could just hand him over to Lily?" Stefan asked.

Damon threw aside a couple of large, flat pieces of wood leaning against the door to the warehouse.

"Because he knew the moment Lily gets Julian back, the fun's over," Valerie answered. "Everything changes."

Stefan and Damon uncovered the door to find that it was bolted shut with at least five different locks.

I looked at Valerie sarcastically. "So, you killed him. That makes a lot of sense."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "I told you. I have my reasons."

Damon started breaking each of the locks in turn.

Stefan turned to face Valerie. "You know, I was thinking. It's a good thing that you and I cut things short. I mean, what if I'd accidentally insulted your driving, and you had no choice but to run a butcher knife through me?"

I smirked in amusement, chuckling.

Stefan smiled a small smile.

Valerie looked between us in annoyance. "Yeah, it doesn't exactly sound like either of you've lived the life of a saint, either. Surprise. The world changes people. You must have figured that out by now."

Damon broke the last lock, turning to face us. "Let's get this campfire started." We walked into the warehouse. The door slammed closed behind us. There was row after row after row of shelves that ran from the floor to nearly the ceiling all of which were filled of hundred of coffins. We were all confused. "Huh. Casket Emporium. Clever."

Valerie groaned in annoyance. "Oscar and his stupid pranks."

We started to look around the warehouse in search of what we were looking for.

"So, Lily's still carrying a torch for some moldy, old corpse, hmm?" I asked.

"Lily is determined to reunite Julian's body with his lost soul," Valerie told us. "But in order to do that, she needs the Phoenix Stone."

Damon, Stefan and I exchanged an alarmed look.

Damon tried to play dumb. "Phoenix Stone, huh? Never heard of it."

"Really?" Valerie asked sarcastically. "That's funny, since you used it on Oscar."

"Who said we used it on Oscar?" Damon asked.

Valerie rolled her eyes. "Oscar was dead, and you needed something to trade for your girlfriend in the box. So, you fooled around with it and found a temporary solution. But, hey, good on you. Whomever you brought back seemed to pull the wool over Lily's eyes."

Damon was now very concerned, turning to face Valerie, making her stop. "Wait. What do you mean, whoever we brought back?"

Stefan and I stopped walking.

Valerie sighed in exasperation. "The Phoenix Stone is stuffed full of very old vampire souls. You didn't raise Oscar from the dead, you clods. You jammed one of those souls into his body."

Damon realized something, turning to Stefan and me. "Bonnie used that stone to bring Jo back." He pulled out his phone, calling Bonnie. "How's everything with Professor Frankenstein and his rebooted bride?"

"Good, I think. She was asleep when I left."

"Oh, good. Glad to hear it. So, quick favor. I'm gonna need you to tell Ric that we made a tiny mistake, and that that's not his wife."

"What?"

"Yeah. It turns out that the stone doesn't actually have any magic juice to bring back any old corpse. It's more like a supernatural holding cell for a bunch of lost vampire souls, one of which you accidentally shoved into Jo's body."

"Oh, my God. That means Oscar is..."

"Oscar's just some random vampire in a Heretic candy shell."

"Damon, I came to your house to talk to him about the stone."

Damon was horrified at the thought of Bonnie putting herself in danger like this. "Bad idea! Cut the conversation short. Call Ric from the car on the way home."

"Oh, no. Don't put this on me."

"Well, I'm sorry. And, I'm trying to do this thing where I do right by Elena, and I just... I..." He hesitated for a moment. "I just don't think that she'd want me to crush his spirit like that. Let him down gently?"

"Is this you doing right by Elena, or you not wanting to break your best friend's heart? Fine. But you owe me."

"Thanks, Bon Bon."

They hung up.

~~~~~~~

Stefan, Damon, Valerie and I were in the middle of looking through all of the coffins for the one that held Julian's body.

All of the ones we found were completely empty. 

Stefan looked at Valerie. "You know, we got Nora to siphon that repulsion spell you put on Caroline. Just in case you were wondering."

Valerie was visibly upset by this, quickly covering it up, shrugging. "Oh. I'd forgotten all about that."

"Why'd you do it?" Stefan asked. "I mean, you couldn't have been worried about Caroline's safety."

Valerie stopped what she was doing, clearly offended by his insinuations. "What do you want me to say? Because I'm pure evil? Because I like seeing people suffer?"

"Well, if that's the truth, then, yeah," Stefan answered.

Valerie sighed. "I'm not a horrible person."

Stefan frowned in confusion. "Really? Well, then who are you? I mean, you turned my life upside down. You leave, you show no remorse, and then you go after my girlfriend."

Valerie looked at him coldly. "You know nothing about me."

I sighed, trying to open the next coffin, but it wouldn't open. I rattled the lid, calling to the others. "This one won't open."

Stefan, Damon and Valerie walked closer.

"Must be sealed shut," Valerie told us, pulling the coffin out away from the other shelves, laying her hand flat on the lid, her hand starting to glow as she siphoned the spell locking it until it was gone, opening the coffin, revealing Julian's body.

Julian was not desiccated. He simply looked as if he was sleeping, though there was a large bloodstain on the left side of his shirt, over his heart.

Stefan, Damon and I were confused.

"Doesn't look dead to me," Damon told us.

Valerie looked as if the sight of Julian was going to make her cry, scowling at his body. "His body's been preserved with magic."

Valerie glared at Julian's body for a moment, spitting angrily onto him, picking up her tank of gasoline, soaking his body with it.

"Lot better-looking than our old man," Damon told us. "I'll give Mom that."

"Move," Valerie told us impatiently. "Unless you want to burn to a crisp alongside him." She finished, putting the gas tank down, looking at Julian's body, holding her hands toward him. "Incendia." Julian's body was instantly set ablaze. The fire went out with a whoosh. Valerie frowned in confusion, raising her hands again. "Incendia."

This time, the spell didn't even work.

Valerie looked horrified.

Stefan, Damon and I were merely confused.

"Should we, uh... get a match?" I asked.

"I don't understand," Valerie told us.

Mary Louise and Nora appeared in front of us, revealing that they had concealed themselves with a cloaking spell and interfered with Valerie's spell, smirking at us in satisfaction.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, of course. Guess it's not a party until the mean girls show up."

Mary Louise looked at Valerie. "Look who's in a heap of trouble."

"What's Lily going to say?" Nora asked.

Mary Louise smiled. "Let's ask her." She raised her voice to call outside. "Lily, we found Valerie! She's over here trying to kill the love of your life."

Lily and Beau walked in.

Beau was angry.

Lily was furious.

Valerie looked at them, terrified of what they might do.

~~~~~~~

Lily was looking longingly at Julian's body for a long moment. She closed the coffin lid, looking at Mary Louise and Nora. "Girls, I'll meet you in the car. I need a moment with Valerie." Mary Louise and Nora looked at Valerie, smirking, walking out leaving. Lily walked toward Valerie. "You may have stolen Oscar's phone, but you left something behind in his pocket." She pulled out a ring, twisting it with her fingertips. "Oscar always did covet Julian's ring. Beau found him easily with a locator spell." She looked at Valerie for a long moment. "Why would you do this?"

Valerie was nearly in tears. "Lily, he's a monster. Bringing him back will only make things worse."

"So you go behind my back with my own kin to destroy him?" Lily asked.

"It's not like you listen to me," Valerie told her. "You were so blinded by your love for him, it's like no one else existed."

Lily was so infuriated by these words that she slapped Valerie hard across the face, leaving Valerie reeling.

I took a step forward. "Hey, we get it. You're angry."

Lily turned to Stefan, Damon and me. "Whatever lies Valerie told you, that's all they are."

Valerie backed away from Lily, starting to cry.

Damon walked toward Lily, standing between her and Valerie. "Technically, she's been a bit vague on the details. I mean, mass-murderer, homicidal maniac, and typical, run-of-the-mill-bad-guy stuff. But, before we just hand him over, you mind telling us what we're missing here? Who is this, really?"

"This man is the love of my life," Lily answered. "The man I didn't think I deserved. The one I fought for, waited for. The one I told myself I could change for. He makes me better, Damon." She gave him a significant look. "You know anything about that?"

"A thing or two," Damon answered.

"Then we are through here," Lily told us. "Beau?"

Beau walked toward Lily and the coffin.

Valerie frantically tried to stop him, grabbing his arm.

Beau angrily pulled his arm out of her grip, continuing toward the coffin so he could take it and load it in their car.

"No!" Valerie told him desperately. "Please, don't. He'll ruin us. He..." Beau ignored her, wheeling the coffin out of the warehouse, leaving. Stefan, Damon and I didn't do anything. Valerie turned to face us, pointing at Lily. "She's playing you! He didn't make her better. If anything, he made her vindictive and cruel."

Stefan frowned in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Valerie looked at Damon and me. "Who do you think gave Kai the idea to put Elena in that Sleeping Beauty-coma?"

Lily's expression became stone cold.

I looked at Valerie in confusion. "Who?"

"Lily," Valerie answered.

Stefan and I looked at Lily in shocked horror.

Damon glared at Lily. "Is that true?"

Lily didn't answer.

"She wanted to make you pay for refusing to help rescue us from the prison world," Valerie told us.

Damon looked at Lily furiously, rushing toward her, gripping her throat. "Screw Julian. I'll kill you."

Beau returned to the warehouse, thrusting his hand toward Damon, using magic to throw him back into one of the shelves of coffins.

Valerie turned to face Beau.

Damon stood.

Damon, Stefan and I prepared to fight if necessary.

Beau spread his arms wide, thrusting them together as if he was about to clap.

All of the coffins around us exploded in a shower of wooden shards.

~~~~~~~

I just woke on the floor to find that I was covered in pieces of broken wood from all the coffins Beau had caused to explode. Several of the pieces had became embedded in my body, including a large piece of wood sticking out of my chest.

Stefan walked closer worriedly. "Hey, Nikki, stay still. Do not move." I tried my best to remain still. Stefan carefully removed the piece of wood from my chest without leaving a splinter in my heart, making me gasp in pain. "You okay?"  I tried to catch my breath, nodding. Stefan helped me stand. We walked toward Damon. Damon was just now struggling to push himself up. Stefan and I pulled him up. Stefan looked around, realizing that Valerie was nowhere to be seen, horrified. "Valerie..." He looked around. "Valerie!" Damon walked toward us. "Hey. You okay?"

Damon was angry, though his anger was directed toward Lily, not us. "I'm fine!"

I recognized the murderous look on his face, immediately trying to calm him down, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Hey, hey, hey, hey. Whatever you're thinking, we're not gonna do that."

"I'm thinking I should rip out her heart and bronze it like a trophy," Damon told us.

"She's still our mother," Stefan told him.

"Exactly," Damon told him angrily. "Our mother, Stefan, is the reason Elena's in that box while the world passes her by."

"I know," Stefan told him calmly. "I get it. Just remember, you're turning over a new leaf."

Damon only became more frustrated by our attempts to calm him down. "Screw the new leaf. She stole Elena from me, and every ounce of happiness I've ever known. I'm not gonna let her just walk away from that."

"We're not gonna let her walk away from that," I told him. "I promise. But right now, just tell me that you're fine and you're not gonna do anything stupid."

Damon paused for a brief moment, taking several deep breaths, finally relaxing. "I'm fine. I'm okay."

I sighed. "Good."

Damon walked away, leaving.

Stefan and I turned to watch him go.

    ~~~~~~~      

Damon and I had left the warehouse district, but Stefan had stayed behind to find Valerie.

I found Damon at the abandoned Mystic Grill bar, walking toward him, sitting next to him.

"Come to talk me down?" Damon asked.

"No," I answered. "Damon, I was only trying to talk sense into you. I'm not saying don't go for your revenge. I'm saying don't go for it when you're blinded with rage, or it's gonna get you killed." Damon looked at me, knowing I was right, looking away, taking a drink. "Whatever you're doing, you gotta do it with a clear mind. Okay, we have gone through too much just for me to watch you die at the hands of your temper." Damon chuckled. "I'm not saying don't go after your mother, because Lily is the reason we won't see Elena until Bonnie dies."

Damon sighed, depressed. "Apparently, she has a thing for emotional torture."

"Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," I told him.

Damon looked at me, offended. "Hey. I do not go behind people's backs and torture them. I like my enemies to look me in the eye and see the depth of my rage."

Damon chuckled bitterly.

I looked at him in concern. "You sure you wanna do this?"

"Burning that bastard's body would've been too good for Lily," Damon told me. "I want to give her that man she's cherished and loved and missed for a hundred years. I want her to run into Julian's arms, and I want her to remember what it feels like to have him returned. I want her to taste true happiness... And then, I want to rip his head off right in front of her. I want to break her heart. I want to break her spirit. I want to destroy her."

I looked at him in amusement, smirking. "So much for that new leaf, huh?"

Damon sighed. "Tell me I'm being stupid and reckless and cruel. Tell me I'm not doing right by Elena."

I smiled a small smile. "You're doing right by Elena."

Damon smiled, raising his glass as a toast. "Well, glad to see you are re-boarding this train to Crazytown, Nicola Salvatore. I was getting lonely all by myself."

I smirked, raising my glass. "Well, it is a town that I am incredibly familiar with."

Damon chuckled. "Ain't that the truth."

We clinked our glasses, drinking.