Surprising Lover (TVDxOC) (Complete)

I Went to the Woods

Valerie enters Wall Flower Bar along with Rayna, who's unconscious.
"Valerie what are you doing here?"
"You know what happened to Jo?"
"Yes?"
"Because Mary Lou and Nora destroyed the phoenix stone. Anyways it's more randomly  All the vampire souls from the Phoenix Stone have found fresh corpses to inhabit. Some vampires, some not."
"[annoyed] And why is this my problem?"
"Stefan is among the missing, and something tells me that you have a vested interest in whether he lives or dies."
"Okay. What do we need to do?"
Just then, Rayna, who has been chained to a chair in the edge of the bar, speaks up.
"We have to hunt them all down."
"[quickly] No. No, Stefan has to be our first priority."
"Your boyfriend should be the least of your concerns."
"[frowns] What do you mean?"
"You think I spent my life chasing harmless do-gooders? That stone was made for the worst of the worst. I've put down some of the most evil vampires of the last two hundred years."
Valerie sighs when she realizes just how huge of a problem this is.

The exact same news report is playing on the television at Wall Flower Bar, where Alaric is making a list of possible vessels for Stefan while Valerie brainstorms a plan for when they find him. Meanwhile, Rayna, who is still chained to the chair and looks extremely overwhelmed, glares at them.
"[on-screen] They have yet to release a statement. But, as news of Hammond's substance abuse continues to unfold..."
"[annoyed] Turn that down. My head's about to explode."
Grace rolls her eyes and picks up the remote to mute the news as Valerie breaks out of her reverie and turns to face Rayna.
"Tell me... What are they like? The voices?"
"[exhaustedly] Confused. Hungry. Angry."
"[curiously] But do you see them? Like, with actual visions?"
"[shrugs] Pieces. All at once, overlapping."
Valerie gets an idea and turns to Grace.
"Do you have any pictures of Stefan?"
"[exasperatedly] Why would I have a picture of Stefan?"
"Now, don't tell me she hasn't got some bloody sentimental keepsake."
Grace is obviously annoyed and growing tired of this situation, but she reluctantly drops his pen on the table and goes to search for the photo. Grace comes in with a framed photo of her and Stefan together.
"Here. Will this do?"
Valerie takes the photo in her hands and looks at it. The sight of Grace and Stefan smiling together in the photo clearly bothers Valerie, which doesn't escape Grace's notice, though she does her best to conceal it with a weak smile.
"It's perfect."
"Okay."
Valerie walks toward Rayna, who is looking at them both suspiciously as Valerie hands her the photo, though the chains around her arms prevent her from holding it up very high.
"Here. Look into his eyes. Concentrate."
"[scoffs] How is this supposed to--"
Valerie comes up behind Rayna and puts her hands on either side of her head, and Rayna immediately jerks upright and groans in pain. Grace just sits and watches.

Grace looks at both women in concern as Rayna seemingly faints.
"[pants] I saw trees, blood, fire, and an anchor..."
Grace's interest seems piqued by this revelation.
"Wait, an anchor?"
"A tattoo on his hand. He's hurt. He's scared."
Grace gets an idea and picks up the television remote, using her enhanced DVR to rewind and replay the news broadcast about Marty Hammond.
"[on screen] Hammond, a former merchant Marine, has been working for the charter bus company. They have yet to release--"
Grace pauses the DVR, and Valerie gasps as she puts it together.
"I saw a burning bus. A merchant marine tattoo, a guy who saves a bunch of kids and then goes on the lam... I think this Marty Hammond is our guy."
Grace is calling Damon to fill him in on what they've learned.
"Arkansas? What the hell's in Arkansas?"
"Miles of national forest, dozens of pissed-off state troopers, and a rapidly approaching blizzard. How soon can you get there?"
"Well, that depends on how cooperative my passenger's gonna be."

Damon is once again on the phone with Grace to inform her of what has just happened while Valerie and Rayna listen on speaker.
"[exasperatedly] What do you mean, you lost me?"
"[frustrated] I mean, he figured out Stefan's body is a time-share, and he ran. He asked about Memphis..."
"Memphis? We're 16 and a half hours away from Memphis."
"And I have to rescue the real Stefan from a manhunt. You have a Heretic. your self are a heretic and a Huntress. Use them."
Damon and Grace, both of whom are incredibly frustrated, hang up their phones at the same time as Grace gives Valerie an exhausted look.
"It's okay. I can track Stefan's body."
However, Rayna looks horrified as she finally speaks up.
"Did you say Memphis? We have to catch him."
"[annoyed] Well, that's the point, isn't it?"
Valerie starts to look even more unhappy when she realizes what Rayna is implying.
"And then what? And then kill him? That's what you're not saying. Who is he?"
"Just another serial killer that cannot be allowed to walk this earth. He should be staked and burned and sent to oblivion."
"Well, he is walking this earth in my boyfriend's body, so we're not killing anyone."
"Then this is where we part ways."
Rayna musters all of the strength she has to leap into the air and fall backward onto the floor, breaking the wooden chair to which she is chained into pieces and allowing her to slip out of the chains. She hesitates a moment too long, allowing Valerie to vamp-speed toward her, but Rayna kicks her in the leg, breaking it and causing her to fall onto her knees and giving Rayna the chance to grab her in a headlock. Grace, looking alarmed, moves toward the bar where a black plastic case is sitting, but when Rayna snaps Valerie's neck, she freezes in place, afraid of what she'll do to her.
"[panting] I'm dying to know what's in that case you keep inching towards."
"[sighs] It's a dart gun."
Surprisingly, Rayna seems intrigued by this statement.
"Think it'll help?"
Grace rolls her eyes and reluctantly puts her hands up in the air in a non-threatening gesture so she can take the case.

When Valerie comes to she is looking around nerveously.
"I need to find Stefan."
"I can't leave the bar."
"I'll take her."
Grace turns around to see Paul.
"Thank you Paul, this is Valerie."
"Nice to meet you Valerie."

Valerie and Paul are seated at a booth by the window in a 24-hour diner and are staring out at the falling snow. Both of them look anxious and annoyed about the day's events.
"[impatiently] Must we wait this out?"
"[scoffs] Well, unless you want to end up in a ditch off the freeway, we're gonna spend the night right here."
"How convenient for you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, if this ends badly, you emerge the victor. Stefan dies through no fault of your own-- less competition for Grace's heart."
"Oh wow. How insecure do you think I am?"
Valerie gives him a knowing look.
"Don't pretend it hasn't crossed your mind. I am very familiar with the sensation of watching Stefan and Grace from the outside."
"[sarcastically] Well, except for the part where Stefan ditched Grace to travel around the world with you."
"You see, I never fooled myself into thinking that what I had with Stefan would last. But you? You put a job and house with her."
Grace becomes more and more annoyed with this conversation by the second.
"Yeah, I moved in with Grace, because I work with her. And she said yes because it made sense for the job. So yeah, Stefan coming back might ruin my perfect little life. So what?"
"[shrugs] Well, for what it's worth, I'm rooting for you and Grace."
Paul can't help but chuckle despite himself as he rolls his eyes.
"Why, how selfless of you, but I don't like her like that and I like men more."

Paul and Valerie are still sitting at the booth in the DALLAS DINER when Valerie's eyes suddenly widen as she gets a vision of some kind. Grace looks at her with concern.
"Are you still tracking Stefan's body?"
"[nods] Whoever's in him just stopped... in Memphis."
Valerie closes her eyes to focus on the vision from her locator spell.
"I can hear music. It's... a fraternity house."
Paul looks shocked by this news.
"Wait, a-a vampire just bee-lined to Memphis and went straight to a university?"
He's suddenly hit by a dawning revelation that makes him rise to his feet.
"Okay, we gotta go."
"[confused] Why? What's going on?"
"[frowns] It's something that Rayna said. It reminded me of an old wives' tale about a string of murders that happened in the 1880s. Apparently, he was a serial killer before he became a vampire. He would stalk sororities and fraternities and murder for sport. As the story goes, he wouldn't just kill. He would force his victims to murder each other. And they would tell the story, but nobody would believe them. Eventually the burden would drive them mad. They never caught the killer."
Valerie's eyes widen in horror at the thought of the chaos the vampire possessing Stefan's body could cause.