The Vampire Diaries (Season 1)

A Few Good Men

Elena and I are sitting on the porch swing, Elena's journal laid out on her lap and her phone up to her ear as she leaves Bonnie a voicemail.
"Hey, Bonnie, it's me just checking in, seeing how you're doing. We miss you here. Don't let your aunt drive you too crazy."
"She still hasn't called you back?"
Elena shakes her head as Aunt Jenna walks up onto the porch and stops to look at Elena and I while sipping her coffee.
"Come home soon. Love you," Elena finishes her voicemail and hung up.
"What are you two doing out here? It's cold," she states.
"Thinking, writing," Elena responds.
I wrap and arm around Elena and smiled. "I'm just keeping Elena company."
"The, uh, funeral for Bonnie's grandma, it brought back a lot about mom and dad," Elena continues. "I was wondering...you said that you would do some digging about them, the adoption."
"Right," Aunt Jenna nods.
"So did you? Dig?" I press on.
Aunt Jenna gives us a small smile and motions her head to the house.
"Come on inside."
Aunt Jenna, Elena , and I go inside and Jenna pulls out her laptop and sits down at the dining table. I sit next to her while Elena stands next to us, removing her jacket.
Your dad kept everything from his medical practice—records, logs, old appointment books," she says as she pulls out a journal and opens it, showing a page to Elena and I. "I found an entry from the night you two was born. Patient and a birth date. Isobel Peterson."
"Do you think that's her real name?"
"Pregnant teenage runaway? Probably not. First name, maybe. But where'd she get Peterson? Classmate? Best friend? So I binged it." She pulls up the Internet and types in a name in the search engine. "I searched for all the Petersons in this area born the same year as Isobel, found three, two men and a woman, Trudie, who lived in Grove Hill, Virginia."
"That's not far from here," I say, a small smile creeping on my face.
"Well, watch this," Jenna respond
     Jenna types something else into the search engine and pulls up an image of Isobel from high school.
    "Isobel," Elena says and looks at the picture with a smile and then turns to me. "She was a cheerleader."
    "Trudie still lives there," she says and hands Elena a post-it note. "This is her address."
     I take the post-it so I could look at the address better. I look up at Aunt Jenna.
     "What about Isobel?"
     "I couldn't find anything about her," Aunt Jenna admits.
     Elena looks disheartened as she sits down at the table and I touch her shoulder. Jenna briefly pauses before divulging new information.
     "Listen. There's something else. Mr. Saltzman, Ric, his wife was from around here, and her name was also Isobel."
     Elena and I share  a look and then I look at Elena.
     "Wait. "Was," as in..." I trail off.
     "She died."
****************
     Elena is putting away clothes in her drawer while Stefan and I stood behind her as we discuss this new turn of events.
     "Alaric's wife might have been your mother?" Stefan asks.
     Elena sighs. "It can't be true, right? I mean, the coincidence alone is just crazy." She turns around to look at Stefan and holds up the post-it note. "I have the address for her friend Trudie."
"You wanna talk to her."
"I don't know. I...I--I don't know," Elena stutters. "If it's true and they are the same person, that means that my birth mother is dead, and I don't know if I could handle that."
"Girls, did Jenna tell you anything about Alaric's wife? How she died?" Stefan questions.
"Just that she was killed and the case was never solved," I respond.
Stefan nods at this prior knowledge and Elena and I looked at him, surprised.
"You knew that already?" I asked.
"The night at the school when he attacked me, he told me some things about her death," he admits.
"Well—"
"No, no," Stefan interjects, cutting Elena off as he gently grabs her wrists. "It's not possible. The coincidence is—it's too much. Now, listen, if you do decide to go talk to Isobel's friend, I'll go with you. Okay?"
"I just don't know what I'm gonna do yet."
Elena wraps her arms around Stefan's neck and they embrace each other lovingly.
"I should get going. I gotta go deal with Damon," Stefan says with a sigh.
"How's he doing?" Elena asks.
I was really surprised
     "He's dealing in his own way," Stefan replies.
     "Meaning in a bad way then."
****************
     As Stefan and I enter the parlor room, I see Damon is feeding off a young sorority girl. There are other girls dancing to the song "Black Hearts (On Fire)" playing in the room.
     All of the girls have bite marks up and down their bodies and Damon comes up for air after feeding. Stefan and I share a look as we made our way down the stairs.
     "How do I taste?" The girl he was feeding off of asked.
     "Oh, so much better than your friends," he replies drunkenly. "But shh. Don't tell them. They might get jealous."
     Stefan flips the lights on and I stand firmly at Stefan's side.
     "No! Buzzkill Bob."
     I could tell he was refusing to look at me and I watch as Stefan turns the music off. Damon looks up at him blearily.
     "Greetings."
     "Can we talk?" Stefan asks.
     "Yeah," Damon slurs.
     "Without the Tri-Delts, he means," I correct.
     "Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of them. They're really good at keeping secrets," Damon replies, whispering he last part.
     Stefan and I get our way though and we and Damon converse in a private corner while the girls lounge around on the sofas. Damon, like always, has a bottle of booze in hand and he drank it occasionally.
     "You're worried about me," he says, mainly towards me. "That's nice. Don't be. There's no need. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? I spent the last 145 years with one goal: get in that tomb.
     "I succeeded. Granted, Katherine wasn't in there to be rescued, but why dwell? You know, it's so liberating not having a master plan, because I can do whatever the hell I want."
     "That's kind of what I'm afraid of," Stefan admits.
     "Relax. I haven't killed anyone in--" Damon sighs dramatically, "--too long."
     "Those girls?" I question.
     "Will end up in their dorm with headaches, think they blacked out. Business as usual," he says and turns to Stefan. "Predictable you didn't pull me over here for a pep talk. So drink up."
     He pushes the bottle into Stefan's chest. "Spill it, brother."
     Stefan grabs the bottle and places it in my hands and I set it down to my side.
     "There was a woman you may have known a few years back named Isobel in North Carolina at Duke," Stefan says.
     "You wanna discuss the women in my past right now? Seriously?"
     "You killed her," Stefan continues.
     I look at Stefan then at Damon, anger boiling in me.
     "You what?" I ask slowly.
     "What's your point?" Damon asks Stefan, ignoring me.
      "I just—just wanna know if you remember anything about her," Stefan replies.
     "Oh, it's like a needle in a haystack, Stefan."
     "Well, think hard. It's important," I snap.
     Damon grasps my shoulder and leans in to whisper in my ear.
     "Nothing is important, not anymore," he says.
     He caresses my cheek and then claps Stefan on the shoulder and pulls away, grabbing the bottle from my side.
     "Great chat. I have to go and exploit some women in the name of grief, which I'm sure you understand," he says as he backs away. "'TTFN', said the Tri- Delts. Heh."
     I groan. "Can't I just kill him?"
     "Do you really want too?" He asks.
     I look down and shake my head as I cross my arms. I know the truth, but Damon doesn't. How can I tell him though?
     "I'm gonna go home and talk to Elena," I say.
     Stefan nods his head and I hurry out of the Boarding House, ignoring Damon's look on my back. I use my speed to get to the house, just in time to see Elena walking to Jenna's car.
     "Where are we going?" I ask.
     "To talk to Trudie," she replies. "You coming or are you going to rat me out to Stefan?"
     "Going."
     Elena nods and we get into the car. It was nothing but silence for the first few minuets of the car ride.
     "What's wrong?" Elena asks.
     "Damon," I reply. "He-- Never mind. It doesn't matter."
     "Yes, it does, Adrian," Elena replies. "You... feel something for him. It's okay that you do. I think you can help Damon become a better person."
     "So, I'm a tool?" I ask.
     "No, but Damon is."
     Elena and I laugh at what she said. When we get to the address, Elena and I share a look before we made our way up to the house. Elena prepares to knock, but hesitates for a moment and looks at me. Finally, she works up the courage, and knocks on the door.
     Realizing this was a bad idea, Elena shakes her head and turns away when Trudie answers the door.
     "Trudie? Tru- Trudie Peterson?" Elena stutters.
     "Yes?" Trudie says. With a smile.
     "Uh, my name is Elena Gilbert and this is my twin Adrian," Elena replies. "We wanted to talk to you about Isobel Flemming."
     "Well, I haven't heard that name in years. How do you know her?" Trudge asks.
     "I think that, um, well...do you know if she had babies that she gave up for adoption?" I ask slowly.
     Trudie's eyes widen in realization at who we truly are. She was the only one that knew that Isobel was pregnant.
     "My god. You're her daughters," she laughs. "was just gonna make some tea. Would you like some?"
     Elena and I look at each other and I shrug.
     "Sure," Elena says.
     She moves to the side. "Uh, the kitchen's this way."
     That was not an invitation, to be exact. What if she drinks vervain? What if she knows, is the bigger question.
     Trudie backs away from the door, anticipating Elena's entrance. Elena steps over the threshold and Trudie releases her breath.
     She does know. She waits for me to enter and I give Elena a look and I clear my throat.
     "I just have to make a quick call first and I can come in for some tea?" I ask. "My boyfriend is dealing with a lot right now."
     Trudie looks at Elena and then at me.
     "Sure."
     I smile and quickly dial Stefan's number. It rang a couple times before he picked up. 
     "Adrian?"
     "Don't get mad but Elena and I are at Trudie's," I say quickly.
I hear Stefan sigh with annoyance on the other line and then silence; and I just waited.
"I promise we will be careful," I continue. "I won't leave her side. I promise you."
"Okay fine," he sighs.
I sigh as well and I pressed "end" on the conversation. I get this uneasy feeling, like I am being watched. I look around before I turn on my heal, successfully going into Trudie's home.
"I wasn't gonna come," I hear Elena admit sheepishly. "I didn't think I was, but I was driving, and I hit this stoplight, and it made me think about when I was learning how to drive and then my mom would always warn me about this blind turn on the left-hand side, and then I was thinking about my mom, and—" She takes a deep breath and sighed. "I had your address. I'm sorry for barging in."
"It's no problem. Um, just a surprise, though," she replies.
Elena, Trudie, and I sit down at the table and she eyes me.
"I haven't thought about Isobel in years."
"When was the last time you saw her?" I ask.
"About 17 years ago, when she left to go have you two," she says. "We kept in touch for a while, but, well, you know, people drift apart."
"And you don't know where she ended up?" Elena asked.
"She was in Florida for a while. She was on her own. I know it wasn't easy."
"Do you have any idea who out father is?" Elena presses.
"I could never get her to fess up," Trudie admits and clears her throat and waved her hand. "Anyway, she finally pulled it together, got into college on a scholarship."
"Where did she go?" I questioned.
"Somewhere in North Carolina," she replies. "Duke, I think.Smart girl, smart school."
The kettle starts whistling from the kitchen and we look at the direction it is in.
"Let me just grab that," Trudie laughs.
She gets up and goes into the kitchen, looking back at Elena and I. I get up and go to the window, still feeling uneasy but Elena pays no attention to it.
Trudie returns with three cups and I joined them back at the table as she sat a yearbook down. Trudie points out a picture of her and Isobel.
"Ah. They came to the games for us.The football team hadn't won in years. We were the stars. Well, Izzie was," she says and then adds, "but I was a damn good backup."
Elena smiles. "Heh. This is great. Thank you."
"You're welcome," she says and glances at our teacups. "You haven't touched your tea."
"I am not a big tea drinker," I admitted.
I lifted it to my lips, preparing to drink it but stopped when the smell burned my nose a little. Vervain. I pretended to drink it and sat it back down, looking back up at her with a smile.
I look over to see Elena had furrowed brows as she looks at the tea and takes a whiff of it. She figured it out too.
"What is this?" She asks.
Trudie keeps her eyes on the yearbook, refusing to make contact with us. I go to move but Elena stopped me.
"Oh, it's just some herbal mixture," she replies quickly.
"Vervain?" I ask. Trudie doesn't respond. "You know."
"Know what?" She innocently asks.
"You didn't invite my sister in and you were hesitant on letting me in and you're serving vervain tea," I say coolly then repeated, "you know."
Trudie suddenly stands up and so do I. Elena stayed sitting down, but grabbed my arm firmly, little knowing that I could get out easily.
"I think that you should probably leave," Trudie announces.
Elena places her cup down and stands with me.
"Wait. What are you not telling us?" Elena asks softly.
"Please leave. Now!"
Elena and I quickly leave the house, making our way to the car. As we walk, she grabs her keys from her purse, and I stop as I see a man standing in the middle of the road.
"Elena," I whisper.
As fast as she can, Elena unlocks the car door, and we jump in. She ignites the engine and drives off and I turn to see the man slowly walking down the street towards where we were parked.
"Who the hell was that?" I ask.
She shakes her head. "I don't know."
********************
I walk into the Mystic Grill and I spot Damon sitting next to Alaric. I take my seat and Damon gives me a look.
"Two Bourbons," Damon says to the bartender.
The bartender pours the bourbons into two glasses and pushes it towards Damon. Damon pushes one to me and I sip it.
"Behold the teacher," Damon mockingly says to Alaric. "Don't you have some papers to grade?"
"It's, uh, more fun with a buzz," Alaric replies.
"Well, most things in life are. Sober's depressing," Damon agrees and sips his Bourbon more.
Alaric turns to Damon with a questioning look. "You don't strike me as somebody who gets depressed."
"Oh, he does. He is super depressed, moody, and SHADY AS HELL," I interject.
Damon rolls his eyes. "You say that like you know me."
"Because I do, Damon."
"I meant the teacher," Damon says and downs his drink and takes mine.
"Nope," Alaric shrugs. "Just a hunch."
Damon and Alaric exchange long looks and Alaric finishes his drink then places it down on the bar.
"You have a good afternoon," Alaric says.
"Not likely."
"I meant Adrianna,"
I gave Alaric a smile before I look at Damon. Alaric gets up and leaves, gently touching my shoulder. Not long after his departure, Liz walks up to the bar, standing next to Damon.]
"Daytime drinking, huh?" She asks him
"Don't you know him?" I ask as I give him a glare.
"It's all the rage."
"Listen, I need a favor," Liz began.
"You ever been in love?"
I raise an eyebrow as I gave Damon a questioning look to his random question. Liz looked dumbfounded as I did.
"Excuse me?"
"Have you ever been so bent on someone, just to have your heart ripped out by them?" Damon clarifies.
Of course this is about Elizabeth. How silly of me to forget.
"You forget I was married," Liz reminds him.
"Right. Gay husband," Damon recalls and he gestures to the barman. "She'll have what I'm having."
The bartender pours another bourbon and Damon pats the seat next to him.
"Sit down."
Liz gives me a look and sighs as she  takes the seat next to him.
"There's a fundraiser here tonight that the Founder's Council is throwing," Liz says. "The town's most eligible bachelors get raffled off for dates, and, well, we're short a bachelor."
"Is this what you do when there's no, um..." Damon lowers his voice to a low whisper. "Vampires? Organize bachelor raffles?"
Liz laughs and I did too but my laugh sounded nervous, guilty even. Luckily Liz did not catch it.
"Oh, trust me. At this point, I miss the vampires. Look, you're a hero to this town, Damon," Liz continues and I scoff. "I know most people don't know it, but you are, and you're single and a catch."
I scoff again. "Damon? A catch?" I asks. "And would you consider yourself single?"
Either Liz didn't catch on to my tone or she's just ignoring it.
"Oh, come on, help me out. Carol Lockwood won't let me live it down if I come up empty-handed."
I watch Damon's face as he contemplates it but then caves. Liz Forbes will not take "no" for an answer if she is really desperate.
"You know, a room full of women clamoring to win a date with me," he weighed, "sounds tasty."
Liz laughs, relieved. "Thank you."
Liz starts to get up but Damon stops her.
"One thing. Can you get information on someone for me? Alaric Saltzman, the history teacher," he says. "There's just something a little off about him, and I just -- I just wanna make sure that the high school did their homework on this guy."
"You got it," Liz nods.
"Thanks."
Liz departs as Damon takes a swig from his glass of bourbon. I just stood there glaring at Damon and he rolls his eyes.
"Why can't you leave my history teacher alone, Damon?" I demand.
"Because there is something off about him," he replies.
'Here's the thing,' I wanted to say. 'Alaric knows about me being a vampire and I cannot tell you that because you will kill him.'
Without another word, I disappear, heading back to my house. I knock on Elena's door and pushed it open to see her sorting through her clothes.
"What's up?" Elena asks.
"Can we talk about Damon?" I ask.
Elena stops immediately and looks at me with a questioning look and a raised eyebrow.
"You... want to talk about Damon?" Elena repeated slowly.
"I feel something for him and I know I shouldn't because he killed me and he's caused nothing but trouble for us but... I have feelings for him."
     Elena grabbed my hands and gave me a smile.
     "I think you are what Damon needs," she replies. "Um... I think we should get ready though. For the raffle event."
     I nod and headed to my room and through on something casual, but something nice.