It was a beautiful day, as Elena walked into the kitchen. Alaric was already up.537Please respect copyright.PENANA0HM9AmcuAH
"Morning," she greeted him.537Please respect copyright.PENANA7WSYieSJrH
"Thought we had aspirin," Alaric said, searching for some in a cupboard.537Please respect copyright.PENANAEkCz1nPxVC
"Yeah, with the vitamins. You're hung over."537Please respect copyright.PENANAvlqQ0Jpjpw
"Yeah, sorry about that, it was a bit of a weird night."537Please respect copyright.PENANAmqCvQEYFkU
"I told you you don't have to feel guilty about inviting Meredith over here."537Please respect copyright.PENANABnmQzW0G3e
"Oh I know. And I thank you for that. But I feel guilty for whiskey dialing her two in the morning."537Please respect copyright.PENANAJKRJ31alZB
"No you didn't."537Please respect copyright.PENANABEk0HCTucx
"Yes I did."537Please respect copyright.PENANAwnOHSEu383
"Oh, was she cool about that?"537Please respect copyright.PENANAL4qchsRghf
"Well, as soon as the aspirin kicks in and I remember the conversation I'll let you know."537Please respect copyright.PENANAHiqxW0bYLr
Just then, the doorbell rang.537Please respect copyright.PENANABoIa98UaFW
Elena opened the door to see Sheriff Forbes on the porch.537Please respect copyright.PENANAHS7oQ0oDqA
"Sheriff Forbes, hi. Is everything ok?"537Please respect copyright.PENANAQ8az8XrzvK
She closed the door behind herself to talk to her on the porch with Alaric beside her.537Please respect copyright.PENANAiPDw3vtVgy
"This is an unconventional conversation we're about to have. So I hope you'll protect me on it," she replied.537Please respect copyright.PENANA0lWE3bSwbN
"Of course," Alaric responded.537Please respect copyright.PENANAOsMPJmHLtM
"I assume you both heard our medical examiner was murdered the night of the Whickery bridge fund raiser."537Please respect copyright.PENANAECAI2uLjbU
"Yeah. Brian Walters. Why?" Alaric answered.537Please respect copyright.PENANAf0TCBUwNLL
"We've been investigating. Someone drove this stake through his heart."537Please respect copyright.PENANAtcnXToQAQK
Liz held up a plastic bag with a stake inside it.537Please respect copyright.PENANAAwtmqfRWLo
"That's one of ours. I mean this is one a set from your parents' lake house," Alaric said.537Please respect copyright.PENANA5kKstoGl2q
"That's why i'm here. I haven't told anyone but forensics scrutinized it for prints and found only one set."
Liz looked at Elena.537Please respect copyright.PENANABH4jTjafVo
"Yours."537Please respect copyright.PENANAbtLzOnCHXT
"What?" Elena questioned.
Damon Salvatore walked through a meadow in the woods, talking on his cell phone with Elena.537Please respect copyright.PENANAZKmvokC5VO
"So you're the prime suspect, huh?"537Please respect copyright.PENANAqCsNDPV7g0
"She doesn't think that I did it. She's just trying' to find out why somebody used one of my family weapons to kill a council member," Elena replied.537Please respect copyright.PENANAXV2sStXuV8
"Well why don't you just ask Ric if his dirty little doctor had access to the weapons," Damon said.537Please respect copyright.PENANAfaem9AkyWd
"You're on speaker phone, dick," Alaric interjected.537Please respect copyright.PENANAxe5dIN5a85
"I'm just sayin' first suspect she's the right one. Don't get so defensive," Damon explained.537Please respect copyright.PENANAahO5udILxX
"Brian Walters was killed days ago, right? I didn't show Meredith this stuff until last night!" Alaric said.537Please respect copyright.PENANAD9jzCYW1s3
"It wasn't Meredith," Elena said.537Please respect copyright.PENANASFmnO3RgDI
"But Brian Walters was her ex-boyfriend and Ric saw them fighting that night," Damon replied.537Please respect copyright.PENANAK7j7SYhrDD
"It's not Meredith! Okay? I refuse to believe that your luck with women is that tragic," Elena responded.537Please respect copyright.PENANAAhB3ndgEr6
"Who else knows about your secret slayer stash?" Damon asked.537Please respect copyright.PENANAcsmOlUYulB
"A dozen. I got weapons everywhere, here, the school, my loft, your car."537Please respect copyright.PENANAfvyojD2hh6
"It's Klaus. It has to be, he's screwing with us," Damon replied.537Please respect copyright.PENANAm1WMn7qdVv
"What if it was Stefan?" Elena asked. "He was crazy that night, and you know he was trying to get under Klaus' skin, he was capable of pretty much anything."537Please respect copyright.PENANAB7IDUEx63L
"Ahh, makes me nostalgic for the time Stefan was a bunny snacking pacifist, anyway got to go, tomorrow later."537Please respect copyright.PENANAZyqHqq7Tu1
"Hey, where are you?" Alaric asked him.
"Tea with an old friend," Damon replied.537Please respect copyright.PENANAClXxB32Szo
Damon hung up.537Please respect copyright.PENANAUx8xMAw6Nc
"Elijah, my favorite Original, back from the dead. Clean up nice."537Please respect copyright.PENANAzHp881xWqK
"You left something in my jacket pocket," Elijah said, a piece of paper in hand.537Please respect copyright.PENANAgf7l33Wr5p
"Oh, yeah, "Dear Elijah, let's get together, thought of the destruction of your brother, XOXO."537Please respect copyright.PENANA4BSwKwlCg1
"Damon."537Please respect copyright.PENANAfq7LSALRaY
"Was I right to undagger you or do we have a problem?"537Please respect copyright.PENANAPlDiruuPwT
"I'm here, let's talk."537Please respect copyright.PENANApQWbCEIqgk
"I'll start with an easy question, any idea why Klaus' killing weapon would be magically sealed in a mystery coffin."
Elijah opened the door to Klaus' house, Stefan and Damon with him.537Please respect copyright.PENANAdiugvOKAMp
"Niklaus, our guests have arrived," Elijah announced.537Please respect copyright.PENANAcfxHuRwgn2
"Damon. Stefan. Elijah tells me, you seek in audience. Very bold. Let's discuss the terms of our agreement like civilized men, shall we?"537Please respect copyright.PENANAIHtAl2J00D
"It's better to indulge him," Elijah told the Salvatores.537Please respect copyright.PENANAtDiXfrs0I0
"I didn't come here to eat, Klaus. Fact, I didn't want to come here at all. But I was told, I had to cause you would hear our sound," Stefan told Klaus.537Please respect copyright.PENANAdVBGVgSNDX
"Well, we can sit and eat or I can reach down your throats and pull out your insides. The choice is yours," Klaus replied.537Please respect copyright.PENANAEXbm6KGOqL
Everyone but Stefan ate at the table.537Please respect copyright.PENANAlJmFrTRDnE
"You lost your appetite," Klaus said.537Please respect copyright.PENANAYvymOf9K3P
"Eat. I thought we agreed to leave grumpy Stefan at home," Damon said.537Please respect copyright.PENANAAxrXF7cBZt
"Isn't it nice? The four of us dining together? Is it that was you had in mind when you pulled the dagger from my brother," Klaus said.537Please respect copyright.PENANA7WfHqrsBLB
"Oh no...I felt about you so...I figured the more the merrier!" Damon rejoindered.537Please respect copyright.PENANARb4d9igDEA
"Elijah and I we have our quarrels over the centuries but we always make it through."537Please respect copyright.PENANASxpKoGWPYp
"Kinda like you and Rebekah right? Where is she by the way? Last I checked she was daggered because you were afraid to face her," Stefan retorted.537Please respect copyright.PENANA6UsH3Pu9YN
"If you are referring to the fact that Rebekah knows that I killed our mother i've already come clean to Elijah."537Please respect copyright.PENANAzHslZxYGXL
"Hey Stef remember when you killed dad? Might wanna doubt on the judgment desert," Damon told his brother.537Please respect copyright.PENANA1kC6N6jQLJ
"We're here to make a deal Damon. That doesn't mean we have to kiss his butt for seven courses."537Please respect copyright.PENANAJsdHzUcgSc
"I'm just saying we have a long evening ahead of us, face yourself," Damon answered.537Please respect copyright.PENANACKtYweQnJU
"Stefan, where is the lovely Elena tonight?" Elijah asked.537Please respect copyright.PENANAflr5UIQ9sz
"I don't know ask Damon."537Please respect copyright.PENANAzp3knVOw1R
Klaus laughed.537Please respect copyright.PENANA8fCYEawB1D
Elijah looked surprised.537Please respect copyright.PENANAC5QL5h3wMw
"I'm sorry you missed so much. Ahh...trouble in paradise."537Please respect copyright.PENANAw6nnNlONRr
"One more word about Elena and this dinner is over," Stefan commented.537Please respect copyright.PENANA5DqPawfGMO
"You know what probably it's best just to keep Elena in the Do Not Discuss pile," Damon interjected.537Please respect copyright.PENANAnmCAs3rfxa
"You're probably right," Klaus agreed. "It's just the lure of the Petrova doppelgänger is still so strong. What do you say brother? Should we tell them about Tartia?"537Please respect copyright.PENANA5tO5ctuO6f
"No, why should we discuss matters long since resolved?"537Please respect copyright.PENANAvxhitbYW4s
"Oh, give them both a shared attraction for Elena and Katerina I think they must be curious to learn about the originated of the Petrova line."537Please respect copyright.PENANAkMBYovTwp2
"We're not going anywhere Elijah. Please! Do tell," Damon rebutted.537Please respect copyright.PENANAQ4ZYcrTFUv
"When our family first settled here, there was a girl named Tartia. She was an exquisite beauty. Every boy her age desired to be her suitor; even though she'd had a child by another man. And no one loved her more than Klaus," Elijah explained.537Please respect copyright.PENANAKXkxzfTAHL
"Ah, I said there's one who loved her just as much."537Please respect copyright.PENANAgaABW3Gu3C
"Wait a minute, so you both loved the same girl?" Stefan asked.537Please respect copyright.PENANA0ISr1eaGWQ
"Our mother was a very powerful witch," Elijah explained. "She saw our love for Tatia and she took her. Klaus and I would later learn that it was Tatia's blood that we consumed in the wine of the night when our mother performed a spell which turned us into vampires. Tatia wouldn't make a decision between the two of us so for a time Niklaus and I grew estranged harsh truth traded we even came to blows. Didn't we, brother?"537Please respect copyright.PENANApHoKI81pjt
"But in the end we recognized the secret bond of family."537Please respect copyright.PENANANHWG6mmrdu
"Family of paver," Elijah said, raising a glass.537Please respect copyright.PENANAlZQlgdcRb5
"Family of paver," Klaus echoed.537Please respect copyright.PENANAIK123EVX9z
"So what do we look at this evening along and discuss the terms of this proposal," Elijah announced.537Please respect copyright.PENANAAZMcYmFbHQ
"That's very simple. Klaus gets his coffin back and exchange he and the original extended family leave mystic falls forever. Me, Stefan and Elena live happily ever after. No grudges," Damon replied.537Please respect copyright.PENANAOxwWF46ryz
"Sounds fair," Elijah commented.537Please respect copyright.PENANAc6qeN86Sdz
"I don't think you understand Elena's doppelgänger blood ensures that I will always have hybrids to fight those that abode me. I will never leave her behind. Well say I do leave her and you protect her and what then? How long until one of you turns her into a vampire? Or worse. How long before she dies? Count between you two. You see each one of you believes that he is the one that can protect her. Nice simply at the illusion. Gentlemen. The worst thing for Elena Gilbert is the two of you."537Please respect copyright.PENANAT29JYV1S4h
"I'm gonna get some air," Damon said.537Please respect copyright.PENANAH0CZc5AtrG
"I'll deal with this," Elijah responded.537Please respect copyright.PENANA8kQSirIN53
"And this talk has made me thirsty. What do you say Stefan? Can I interest you with my love to do a drink?" Klaus asked, as Damon and Elijah stepped out.537Please respect copyright.PENANAmXEdtK6AZP
Klaus fed from a girl's neck.
He finished and she dropped to the floor dead.537Please respect copyright.PENANAEIqP59W3dW
"Delicious," Klaus commented.537Please respect copyright.PENANAOySg987IrV
"Well...I guess the only reason you agreed to this evening, Klaus is to try and watch me and my brother," Stefan said.537Please respect copyright.PENANACXGS775xOv
"I know you didn't have well enough for your own. Because of Elena you're going to lose your brother and you only have yourself to blame."537Please respect copyright.PENANAor6O67WZ0Q
"What do you say, Klaus. I'm here to put something on the table. We've made our offer. Now you count on," Damon said, coming back in with Elijah.537Please respect copyright.PENANAdmeTga4Mbl
"Okay. I offer Elena's future happiness, you see what she needs right now is to be rid of you lot, and to fall in love with a human, maybe that football player."537Please respect copyright.PENANAgArMviUSE8
"Matt Donovan? Really?" Damon said.537Please respect copyright.PENANAnsLjLxwXCg
"Yeah. Why not? They marry, live a long life and make a family."537Please respect copyright.PENANA80ylWalmVN
"And continue the Petrova bloodline, every few hundred years you'll have a doppelgänger for you to drain and you never run out of hybrids, right Klaus?" Stefan said.537Please respect copyright.PENANAuLB2GDtAkb
"Consider it a small return on my investment in her well-being. See after you hand me back the coffin, I'll ensure her safety for the rest of her natural life, you know it's what's best for her."537Please respect copyright.PENANAcDeZuYCZ5D
"So what do you say, Stefan? Do we have a deal?"537Please respect copyright.PENANAmx7Gp5hx7r
They walked towards each other.537Please respect copyright.PENANA0pbPuAvwYX
"What are you doing?" Damon asked.537Please respect copyright.PENANATwheYWV9dw
Klaus held his hand out and Stefan took it.537Please respect copyright.PENANAQBNRqP0rlY
"Nice try, Klaus, but no deal."537Please respect copyright.PENANAIeatnOpjcx
Klaus grabbed Stefan's arm and held his hand in the fireplace in the fire and his hand started to burn.537Please respect copyright.PENANADgdadgBpxk
Damon rushed over and through him away.537Please respect copyright.PENANAcPYmp36pae
Stefan got to his feet.537Please respect copyright.PENANAruu0hdFBBS
"What do you think you're doing?" Damon asked Klaus.537Please respect copyright.PENANAaPuhXFwGqQ
"Since we don't have a deal, let's make a new one. Give me the coffin or I'll burn him alive."537Please respect copyright.PENANAvLcgJrbdmg
"Why don't you go ahead and kill me now? We both know you'll do it anyway once you have your coffin."
"Because that would take all the fun out of it."537Please respect copyright.PENANAYYUlJ3BMZV
Elijah walked in with Rebekah.537Please respect copyright.PENANAexRM1Y2Uwy
"What have you done?" Klaus asked Elijah.537Please respect copyright.PENANA9g7jXqo2V3
"What have you done? I've learned now to trust in your promises, Klaus."537Please respect copyright.PENANAepREOyO01O
Rebekah walked up to Klaus and stabbed him with a dagger.537Please respect copyright.PENANAPrIryfZvC5
"This is for mother."537Please respect copyright.PENANAMXXEksPmW6
Elijah had a dagger too.537Please respect copyright.PENANApEBwZjW4h6
Just then, their mother came in and walked up to him.537Please respect copyright.PENANAnPWzWHI6dq
"Do you know why I'm here?"537Please respect copyright.PENANAKkUZFuMI6w
"To kill me."537Please respect copyright.PENANAKZFs8ba3Ut
Stefan and Damon watched from the sidelines as a family brawl fell into place.537Please respect copyright.PENANAUHeZmvMudp
"I'm here to forgive you," their mother replied and then left the room.537Please respect copyright.PENANAG7ardfHOLF
Elijah stabbed his brother.537Please respect copyright.PENANAUyJCSY8hLq
"See you in the next century or two."537Please respect copyright.PENANAZBH6V7w92l
The Salvatores left.
Damon and Stefan walked through the woods that night.537Please respect copyright.PENANAysiYnRPJdH
"You could've just left me to die there and you would've had Elena all to yourself. Why didn't you?" Stefan said.537Please respect copyright.PENANAhSMWlSRh9i
"I didn't do it on your account."537Please respect copyright.PENANAsXBrHlge2x
"I love her, Damon."537Please respect copyright.PENANA7Sn1av4kwS
"So do I."537Please respect copyright.PENANAL0scQtpZOR
Damon looked at him and then walked away.