Sincerely Yours [Stefan Salvatore]

[19. Jonathan Gilbert's Invention]

Damon stopped at the threshold and cautiously stuck his foot through; it slipped into the house easily, no barriers detected. "Yeah, I'm good. No permanent resident, apparently."

Lucy hummed and kept walking through the house, stepping into the kitchen. It was much brighter in this room so she was able to see that the house was actually lived in. There were keys on one of the counters and old beer cans piled up in the trash can.

Damon took this time to investigate, too. He opened the fridge and saw that there were about ten blood bags sitting on the shelves. "Uh, guys, we have company."

As soon as Lucy and Alaric turned around at Damon's warning, a man jumped out at Alaric, shoving him up against the wall. Alaric punched the vampire in the abdomen and the vampire lurched away, revealing that Alaric had a wooden stake in his hand. The vampire composed himself and jumped at Alaric again, only to be stopped by Damon.

"Boys, boys, that's enough," he scolded them; Lucy crossed her arms over her chest, relieved that Alaric was all right. Damon got a good look at the vampire as he stood up. "Hey, I know you."

The vampire's face lit up in recognition. "Damon?"

"Your name is Henry," Damon stated. "You were in the tomb."

"Yes, sir," Henry nodded. "What are you doing here?"

Lucy, Damon, and Alaric shared a look before Damon said, "We're looking for John Gilbert."

"Oh," Henry relaxed and walked over to the fridge, pulling out a blood bag. He took off the cap and started pouring the blood into a glass, causing Lucy to look away. "How do you know John Gilbert?"

"He's my uncle," Lucy replied.

"And I've known him for years," Damon added. "He's a good friend. How do you know him?"

"I met him right after I got out of the tomb," Henry threw the empty blood bag into the trash can. "He's been helping me out."

Lucy was intrigued; her uncle was helping a tomb vampire? "Helping you out how?"

"Adapting," Henry set the blood in front of Damon and grabbed another blood bag for himself. "It's a whole new world...cars, computers, Match.com...There's so much to learn. He helped me get this place."

"So, do you live here alone or is there someone else here?" Alaric spoke up impatiently.

Henry looked at him weirdly and to resolve any tension that could pop up, Damon interjected, "That's my friend's very...passive-aggressive way of asking if you, uh...do you know a woman named Isobel?"

Henry shook his head. "Uh, no. No, I don't know an Isobel. I know John," he grinned. "He's my only real friend. He really showed me the ropes—how to use a microwave, separate my whites..."

Lucy frowned; Henry seemed like he was a relatively nice guy and she knew that her uncle must have been using him. According to Damon, John was a vampire-hater to his core so there was no way he was helping Henry out of the kindness of his heart.

"What else do you do for him?" Alaric sounded annoyed.

"I help keep an eye on things," Henry revealed casually. "You know, with the others?"

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows. "The others?"

"From the tomb," Henry clarified. "They're still pissed at the Founding Families for trying to burn them alive. I'm cool, but those tomb boys...they want revenge."

Lucy's chest tightened; she was a part of a Founding Family, as was her siblings, Caroline, and Tyler. They were all in danger if the tomb vampires were so desperate for revenge.