Elijah and Cami both wanted updates.
"So, how was it?" asked Cami at breakfast.
"It was fun," she said pleasantly. "Thank you for letting me go."
Elijah simply nodded, and she knew that he was still frustrated with having been outnumbered when it came to giving her permission. Still, it brought him joy seeing the elated look on her face. And, after all, nothing had gone wrong.
"There are minimal updates from New Orleans," said Elijah. "Marcel and his vampires are safe, Rebekah is choosing to remain in her witch body, Finn is nowhere to be found, and for that matter, neither is Mikael. The wedding will still be taking place at the end of this week."
"Wait," said Graciela, "don't I need to be present to receive the blessing of being able to turn at will?"
"I believe so," said Elijah. "As you are not a born member of the Crescent Pack. The wedding will take place in the afternoon. I will purchase a plane ticket for you, and you will fly to New Orleans that morning, attend the wedding, and remain there with the other wolves for a few days, in case any important information arises that must be disclosed. Then, if you so wish, you may return here. Provided the need to be hidden remains."
"And if it doesn't, you'll all come home?"
"That is the hope," said Elijah. Hope looked up from her high chair, hearing her name, and squealed happily when her uncle smiled at her.
Graciela's phone began to ring. "It's Klaus," she said, surprised. "I'll be back." She walked into the next room to answer, though she knew Elijah would be able to hear. "Hi."
"Well?" he inquired. "What of last night?"
"Are you really calling for gossip about my unofficial date with Stefan?"
"Certainly. How much did you tell him? How did he react?"
"Oh. So you don't actually care about how it went, you just want to know if I spilled the beans about anything important. The only relevant thing, I think, is when I mentioned my family and he happened to know about the Guerreras and what went down several months ago. Some werewolf friend of his was in New Orleans and kept up with news from the city, so he told him."
"Ah... Tyler Lockwood. If you ever see that idiot, I suggest you steer clear of him. He attempted to kill Hayley and the baby in retaliation for something I did."
"And... what did you do?"
"Killed his mother."
Graciela scoffed. "Why am I even surprised? Your family's history with this friend group is more appalling by the second. So, you killed Lockwood wolf's mom, the doppelgänger's aunt, and who else, exactly?"
"All the murders blur together after awhile, little runt, I can't recall exactly."
She sighed. "Well, I don't think you need to worry about Stefan plotting against you or anything. He seems... fine. He's separated himself from his old life. And I think, after everything I've heard, he needs that. So... don't worry. I don't think he'll prove to be a threat. He doesn't know any details about our situation and he isn't prying. He's trying to remove himself from supernatural stuff. I really don't think he cares to know anything about our situation."
"Good. Stefan Salvatore has gotten in my way far too many times, and I'd rather it didn't happen again. Very well, then. How will you be arriving for the wedding?"
"Elijah mentioned getting me a plane ticket so I can fly to New Orleans that morning. I'd be staying a few days and then coming back if we all still need to be in the safe house."
"Until Finn is found and dealt with, you all must remain there. I will not have him hurting Camille or Hope."
"You know, if you like Cami so much, you should tell her."
"I did not call for relationship advice from you. You have not even had a boyfriend. I have a thousand years of—"
" —experience," she cut in. "Yeah, blah, blah, blah. And yet, you're risking her slipping away because you're too shy to admit you care. It doesn't make you weak if you admit your feelings, you know? It makes you strong because you can own up to the part of yourself that is clearly there amidst all the... murder-y sides to you. I mean, come on, you obviously feel very strongly for her if you brought her to this safe house, willingly letting her in on your biggest secret. Maybe you should tell her that."
"Oh, bloody hell," he muttered, "I ought to tell Elijah to prepare to pay for your career as a psychologist."
"No, I can just say it's me being selfish," she replied. "Cami is nice. And if I'm going to be part of this family, I'd like her to be a part of it, too. I think Hope might feel the same way. Imagine getting to have two awesome moms? I'm jealous of her."
He huffed. "Be careful what you tell Stefan. Do not give too much away." He then hung up.
She went upstairs to do homework afterward, then spent some time with Hope, helping her practice her walking. She still wasn't able to stand very well on her own, but when held up, she was definitely able to do a good job of planting her feet on the ground.
"Look at you," she said proudly. "Soon you'll be running like a gazelle outside."
Hope squeezed her fingers, stepping forward a few more times, then looking up as if wishing to take a break. Graciela helped her sit down, and crawled onto the ground next to her. Immediately, Hope started piling toys onto her lap, and then laid herself down on her stomach, practicing pushing herself up.
"You are so smart," observed Graciela. "Doing arm and leg day back to back... jeez. I admire your dedication."
Her phone buzzed. She glanced down, and saw Stefan had messaged her, letting her know he was off of work.
'What are you going to do now?' she inquired.
'Probably sacrifice a meal to the gods for strength.'
She giggled. 'Everyone seems to be so motivated to be strong today. I should probably take the hint and go on a run.'
'Probably would be a good idea, but is it safe?'
'I don't know. Probably not. Elijah would have to come with me, and I can't imagine him in a wifebeater and basketball shorts. Unless he runs in suits?'
'He does run in suits, I've seen him. I imagine you prefer different attire?'
'Yeah, I actually wear a huge cloak to keep away the bad spirits that might try to chase me. What about you? What do you wear when you go on a run?'
'Easy, I don't wear anything. Helps me tan.'
'Real question, are vampires actually able to tan? Or has your skin tone been the same since you turned?'
'You know, I'm not sure. But I don't think we can tan. I mean, the daylight ring protects us from the UV rays that would otherwise kill us. Though, I'm not sure about the exact science behind it. I've never really thought of that.'
'So say I become a wolf, right, and then I get a really bad tan and get sunburned, and then happened to be turned into a hybrid that day. Would I get stuck with that bad tan?'
'I don't think so. Wolves have healing factors, too, so I think your body would naturally fix whatever is wrong. In humans, though... I think it's possible to be stuck with a bad tan forever.'
'I bet tanning spray has to work, right? Maybe? I know vampires cut their hair and it still grows, and technically your hearts still beat but just very very slowly and quietly. And you can still eat regular food and go through all the processes that follow along with that. So tanning spray should do the job. I think?'
'In all my time in this world, I never even thought about this. And I didn't study the science to be able to give you an answer.'
"What do you think, Hope?" asked Graciela as she crawled over to pat her legs, wanting to her to get up. "Do you think vampires can tan? Should we have Elijah give it a try?"
She babbled in response. Graciela tucked her phone away after replying, 'If I ever get an answer, I'll be sure to tell you.' She then scooped Hope up, holding her on her hip while she cleaned up her toys and carried her to the kitchen for some lunch.
The following day, Stefan messaged her bright and early to ask if she wanted to have dinner again that night. She went downstairs to ask Elijah for permission, and he allowed it, reminding her of the nine o'clock curfew.
She left earlier this time, arriving at the auto shop at four o'clock, right as it closed. Stefan led her back to his house, revealing he had all the materials set out to make their meal.
She tied up her hair, and washed her hands to help him chop the vegetables. "So, what are we making?"
"I'm going to grill some chicken," he said, "and then make some baked potatoes. The vegetables will be steamed as a side."
"That sounds yummy," she replied, starting to slice the carrots carefully.
"Watch your fingers," urged Stefan.
"I will," said Graciela. "Don't worry. I've gotten used to chopping. I work very slowly, but it keeps me from severing any fingers."
"Slow and steady wins the race, right?" he said, standing on the other side of the kitchen island and bringing out four already marinated slices of chicken breast. "I'm hungry enough to eat two of these. Think you'll be able to eat two, as well? 'Cause otherwise I can keep one for lunch tomorrow."
"My wolf appetite hasn't kicked in," she said. "I think I'll only manage one. So, I'm going back to New Orleans for a few days. Not tomorrow, but the day after that. I'll leave early in the morning and probably come back sometime next week."
"Special occasion?" he asked. "Or are you finally safe?"
"Special occasion," she confirmed. "I'm not in the clear yet."
"I'm assuming you didn't piss anyone off to get yourself in this position. I take it Klaus did... what Klaus usually does?"
"For once, I don't think he pissed anyone off," she said thoughtfully. "At least, not recently. Wounds that are far older than that, reopened at an inopportune time, we'll say. If I had the ability to protect myself, I probably wouldn't have come here."
"Elijah's your bodyguard, then," said Stefan. "Not bad. Could be worse for you, you might be stuck with Klaus."
"He's not too terrible anymore," she said. "At first, I was really scared of him. I thought he'd kill me in my sleep. Now, he's accepted me as part of the family and teases a lot. He calls me 'little runt.' I was the baby of my family, now I'm the baby of this one. I don't consider myself to be that tiny, but I guess he likes to think that it'll bother me?"
"Klaus loves to push people's buttons. He'll take any and every opportunity to make someone uncomfortable or flat out miserable."
She laughed lightly. "Yeah, I've noticed. It's so obvious he's the middle child of his family. He is always dying for attention of any kind." She set the chopped carrots aside, making toward the broccoli and cauliflower. She heard a knock at the door, and raised a brow at Stefan, who seemed confused. He clearly hadn't been expecting guests.
He dried his hands and opened the door to reveal a man and a woman. By the looks of it, the blonde was pissed, and the dark-haired male was aiming to cause mischief.
"Stefan!" said the man, leading the woman in without asking for permission. "You are a hard man to track down. What a nice place you have here. How refreshing that it's open invitation to all your mates, right?" He rubbed his hands together. "Got any bourbon?"
He started to look around the house. Graciela remained rooted to the spot, watching as the woman glared at Stefan with her arms crossed.
"And who might you be?"
She nearly cut herself when the man appeared behind her. She turned to face him, holding the knife up. "Prone to violent reactions when startled," she said sharply. She deduced these people were from Stefan's past, somehow, but he didn't seem to consider them friends, because he wasn't all that pleased that they were here. "How about you stand on the other side of the island?"
"Forgive me, love," he said, holding his hands up in surrender and going to where Stefan had been preparing the chicken. "Who are you? Stefan's current lover?"
She turned red. "His friend. I take it you don't hold that title anymore."
"More like never did," said Stefan, coming to stand closer to him. "Leave her alone, Enzo."
"So, girlfriend," said Enzo, wiggling his eyebrows at Graciela, and motioning for the blonde to join him at the table, which was only set for two. "What's for dinner?"
Graciela looked at Stefan, wondering if he was actually going to let them stay. It seemed he was. "Just keep chopping," he requested politely. "I'll finish the chicken and baked potatoes."
She felt her phone buzzing in her pocket. Likely Elijah, wanting an update about how she was doing. She cleaned her hands off and reached for it, texting him that everything was fine. She set the phone on the counter for easy access, and continued to chop the broccoli and cauliflower.
"Are you going to keep staring at me?" Graciela asked the blonde, who was apparently trying to kill her with her glares.
"Who are you?" asked the blonde, giving Graciela the sense that she was a bitchy popular girl in high school. Which didn't seem like it'd been too long ago for her, considering how young she appeared to be.
"Graciela Guerrera," she said firmly. "You?"
"Caroline Forbes."
"Oh," she replied. "You're Caroline? You seemed nicer in the stories I heard."
Enzo found this funny. "Did Stefan tell you his entire life story already?"
"I didn't hear it from Stefan," she said, and turned away to toss the vegetables into a pan on the stove. She could sense Enzo and Caroline were now trying to figure out how she would have found out about her if not from Stefan.
Once the four plates were ready, they sat at the table. Stefan set out a bottle of bourbon, and Enzo immediately served himself a glass, passing it on to Caroline.
"No, thanks," she said when the man tried to pour some into her glass. "I'll get water if I'm thirsty."
"So," said Enzo to Stefan, "you're dating a child."
"I just don't want to drink," snapped Graciela, beginning to lose her temper.
"Stefan," interrupted Caroline, "what have you been up to? You know, in the time that you haven't been returning anyone's calls."
He pursed his lips. "I work at an auto-repair shop. It's relaxing."
"Excuse me," said Enzo, gesturing toward Graciela's neck with his fork. "You have a lovely clavicle. Forgive me— I always notice a woman's neck. I'm a neck person! So is Stefan, right Stefan?"
"Not anymore," he muttered.
"Ah, well that's silly. You can't just stop being a neck person!"
"Let me guess," said Graciela coldly, "you're a vampire, too. I suggest you don't get your hopes up in your fascinations with my neck because I am pumped full of vervain."
Enzo pretended to be offended. "I did not imply I'd bite you. Goodness, you are feisty. I didn't know that was Stefan's type." He wiggled his eyebrows at him. "How long have you had this charming little house, hmm? And how often has she been coming around to ah... not feed you?"
Stefan's grip tightened on his glass. "I got it about a month or so ago. Before that, I was living elsewhere."
"Uh, yeah," said Caroline sharply, "that's what we all thought, but it turns out you were here the entire time with your friend Graciela. And for the record, your job was supposed to be investigative work, not auto-repair."
"Right," said Stefan. "Well, I've moved on from that job."
"Well," she replied angrily, "you can't move on from investigative work until you've solved the investigation, Stefan."
"How about we just drop it?" he urged. "I'm happy doing what I'm doing now, and that's all that should really matter, right?"
She made to protest, but Enzo stopped her. "There, darling. No need to make a scene. Really it's all just some big misunderstanding, perhaps this will clear it all up." He stabbed his fork into Stefan's hand.
"ENZO!" cried Caroline.
Without thinking, Graciela's fork went flying out of her hand, and lodged into Enzo's shoulder. It surprised her, and she gasped. "Oh, shit, I didn't mean—"
"Is she serious?" demanded Enzo, yanking the fork out of Stefan to remove the one in his own body. "She attacks me, then she apologizes?"
"Enzo!" Caroline exclaimed again. "Really, this is your 'no need to make a scene?!' Ugh! I'm going upstairs, I need a minute from all this."
She stormed toward the staircase. Graciela sat back down, and Enzo tossed her fork back, which now had his blood on it. She opted to go and get a clean one.
"What kind of coward gives up on his own brother?" asked Enzo.
Graciela made sure to get a knife, too, as Stefan replied, "You don't know what you're talking about."
He made to attack Enzo, but the other vampire was quicker, stabbing the fork into his neck this time. "Why don't you enlighten me?" Enzo snarled.
Graciela shrieked and dove behind the island as Stefan shoved Enzo into the dinner table, breaking it. He removed the fork from his neck, and in that moment, Enzo was able to pin him against the wall. Stefan headbutted him hard enough to send Enzo stumbling away. His face was unguarded, and Stefan punched him, then grabbed onto his head, and snapped his neck.
"Oh my god," said Graciela, slowly getting to her feet.
Stefan looked incredibly ashamed. "I'm so sorry," he said quietly. "This... this is a mess. I should walk you to your car so you can..." he trailed off, tilting his head toward the ceiling, as if overhearing a conversation upstairs. He started to head to where Caroline was, and Graciela remained where she was, trying to listen, and only just able to make it out.
"What's the wall?" Caroline was asking someone, her voice faint. The person replied, and she said, "Yeah, because she doesn't want to admit what everyone already knows. She fell in love with Damon while she was still with Stefan."
Graciela's heart sank into her stomach. She couldn't imagine how awful it had been for Stefan to hear that.
Her phone buzzed, and she saw Elijah was asking for an update. She texted, 'Going to head home soon, something important came up for Stefan.' She'd rather tell him the details later. If he barged in right now, it probably wouldn't be very nice for anyone involved.
Caroline and Stefan seemed to be arguing upstairs. She couldn't help but continue to eavesdrop as she started cleaning up the bits of broken table and chairs. Not that eavesdropping was much of a choice at this point— they were talking so loudly, she could hear it clearly. And now that the sun had gone down, she didn't feel safe walking back to her car alone.
"Why don't you care?" Caroline demanded. "You're the one who always cared, it's what I liked about you. You know amidst all the crazy in our perfectly-messed-up lives, you cared more than anyone. So how could you just— stop?"
"Cause I had to," he said. "I had to 'move on.' You know, the months before I moved here I was following every lead that Alaric sent my way. I spoke to every witch, every shaman, every psychic in twenty countries around the globe, and every lead was a dead end."
"But Enzo has another lead, there's this coven in Oregon—"
"The Gemini Coven, yeah I looked into them too, Caroline there was nothing there. Because there's nothing we can do. Damon and Bonnie are dead. I had to come to terms with that. And once I did, I had to start over, I couldn't just live my life with my old friends, I couldn't just go near Mystic Falls or Elena or—"
"Or me?" asked Caroline. "Cause I thought we were closer than that, I mean— you couldn't hear in all those messages that I left you, you couldn't hear that I was completely falling apart without you?" There was a moment of silence. "Cause you never listened to them."
"I had to move on," said Stefan. "I didn't have a choice. I had to erase everything."
"Well, let me summarize them for you," snapped Caroline. "You're a dick. If you want Enzo out of your house, you'll throw him out yourself."
Graciela could hear Caroline coming downstairs as she started to sweep up the broken bits on the floor. "Word of advice?" said Caroline sharply to her. "You can do better than a guy who abandons everyone who cares about him without a warning."
She stormed out of the house. Stefan made his way toward her. "I am so sorry about all of this," he murmured. "I didn't mean for things to get so out of hand."
"I get it, you know," she whispered. "When my siblings were killed, I let it all out in the span of twenty-four hours then... tried to stop it all. I just wanted to accept Elijah's offer and move on, learn to be an adult and get away from all of it. That pain... I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Would a goodbye have been nice for your friends? Probably, in their eyes. But you're not required to explain your feelings to anyone. You're allowed to be selfish. Because from what it sounds like, you've spent your life doing everything for others and nothing for yourself. The Other Side is gone, Elijah told me that. It's okay for you to want to move on. To want things to be normal. Should you apologize to all the people you ghosted? Probably. But don't ever apologize for the way you chose to grieve and emerge from it. Unless they can understand how horrible it feels to lose a sibling... or five... they don't get to judge."
They heard Enzo stirring. Stefan stepped protectively in front of Graciela as he stood up.
"Isn't that sweet?" said Enzo darkly. "It's hard to see why she cares about you at all. I can't see what's worth caring about. You know, Damon once told me that he promised you an eternity of misery. And I remember thinking, 'well what could his brother have ever done to inspire so much hatred?' But now I get it... you're not a brother to him. Brothers don't give up. So, every time I see you doing anything that looks like you've done so, every time you try to start over in a life that's nothing but a lie, I will make you pay."
"Leave him alone," said Graciela, stepping out from behind him. "Get out, go on your way, and let him be."
"Make me, princess," Enzo sneered.
"Oh, you don't want to ask me to do that," she said maliciously. "I have three Original vampires in speed dial and I willcall them to come here and rip you apart if you don't get the hell out, right now."
Enzo could tell she wasn't bluffing. She was trembling, and afraid, but her heart beat like that of a nervous person telling the truth. Not someone who was anxious about being caught in a lie.
"An eternity of misery," he said to Stefan before exiting the house.
Stefan seemed impressed with how Graciela remained standing firm while she waited to hear the car driving away. "Now, that's a side of you I didn't know about."
"The name Guerrera means 'warrior,'" Graciela murmured. "I was born with blood on my hands, in a crime family that has taken hundreds of lives over the course of decades. I wasn't born to be weak, I wasn't born to be normal. I lived under fake names for years to be protected. But you know what? Maybe normal can't happen until I'm equipped to fight... in case anyone ever tries to disturb the life I will build for myself."