The armchair was not comfortable.
But Rosalind managed to sleep just a bit that night. She waited to leave until she saw Elena in the morning. The doppelgänger was very grateful that she'd remained there through the night.
Rosalind walked into the Lockwood Mansion, hoping to avoid being seen. She heard her aunt clear her throat in the parlor.
"Aunt Carol," she said sleepily. "Good morning."
Her aunt scanned down her body and saw she was still wearing her dress, and that her hair was braided to prevent it from looking a mess. "Honey, you didn't come home last night, I was worried."
She told her the truth, because there was nothing wrong with it. "I spent the night at the Gilbert House. Elena wasn't feeling too well and she needed some moral support."
Carol relaxed. "Well, that's nice of you, dear. I'm sure she appreciated that."
"I think she did. I'm just really tired..." she yawned into her elbow.
"Do you have work today?"
"Oh, no," she said. It was a full moon, and Rosalind always made sure to get the entire day off. "Day off today. I knew I was going to need it after the party..."
She saw Tyler making his way down the stairs. He raised a brow at her, confused as to why she looked so tired. "Good morning," she said. "Give me a second to clean myself up and then I'll go with you."
"Okie," he said, popping into the room and giving his mother a kiss on the cheek. "Hey, Mom."
"Morning, sweetheart," said Carol. "Coffee's hot, if you want some."
Tyler nodded and poured himself a cup. "Rosie, do you—?"
"Might as well," she said, stifling another yawn. "Can't go back to sleep."
He poured her a cup as well, noticing his mother had a glass of scotch in her hand. "Rough night?"
"Uh, rough week," said Carol. "I'm a little stressed. You?"
"Feeling pretty good," said Tyler happily.
"You know," said Carol, "if you're going to bring a girl home, I wish she'd have the tact to not sneak out like a prostitute."
"Doesn't mean a girl's a prostitute 'cause she sneaks out," said Rosalind, starting to drink her coffee. "Maybe she had a curfew she forgot or maybe..." she smacked Tyler on the back of the head, "Someone just didn't remember to be polite and offer for her to spend the night in a guest bedroom so she doesn't have to drive in the middle of the night."
"Yeah," said Tyler. "Caroline's not a prostitute, Mom." He sipped his own coffee and gagged. "Woah, I think the cream's bad."
"Really?" said Rosalind wearily. "Fuck, I'll eat anything if I'm tired enough, I didn't notice anything."
"I'll wait for you at The Grill," Tyler said, realizing she probably wasn't going to be ready in a 'second.' "I'm going to check on something at school."
"Sure," said Rosalind. "We still on for the ah... gaming tournament at Matt's tonight?"
"Yep," said Tyler. "Don't wait up tonight, Mom." He kissed her cheek and left.
Carol simply sighed. Rosalind finished her coffee and took her cup and Tyler's to the sink before heading upstairs.
She showered, cleaning herself off and praying she didn't get a UTI because she completely forgot to pee after she slept with Sophie the night before. She took some extra steps to clean between her legs just in case, and drank as much water as she could while still at home to pee and wash again. That was one thing she wouldn't miss once she became a wolf. STDs and UTIs.
After a good breakfast, she drove to meet Tyler at The Grill and found him at his usual booth, alone.
"Hey, Elena asked to meet," said Tyler. "That okay with you?"
"Yep," she said. "Why wouldn't it be?"
"Cause you two... you know..."
Rosalind stared at him. "You think I hooked up with Elena? Tyler, no, I wasn't lying to your mom about being there for moral support. Actually, I was with Sophie and I ah... may have abandoned her to go and see if Elena was okay and then I went home with her to make sure all was well but some stuff happened and it felt like I should stay to keep her company."
Tyler hummed. "Caroline just left. I thought she'd stay."
"I mean... did you discuss it at all? Did you talk about whether you wanted to spend the entire night together?"
"Uh... no."
"Then why are you surprised? She probably wanted to get home, clean up, go to bed. If you want her to stay you have to talk to her about it and see what your expectations are, what her expectations are, you know, communicating like people who sleep with each other should."
"Hey, it doesn't sound like you communicated with Sophie when you left her."
"Damon was yelling at Elena, I was worried he was going to hit her or something! If I see her again I'll apologize. But the difference is that that was a one-time thing. A spontaneous hook-up where it'd be weirder to spend the night. You and Caroline have been falling for each other for months at this point. You are required to communicate better than that."
Tyler just rolled his eyes at her. The doors opened, and Elena came in, smiling at them. "Hey," she said, sliding into the booth beside Rosalind. "Sorry this is short notice, I had no one else I could ask about this werewolf stuff. We have a lead on Stefan and Klaus, and we think they're going after a wolf pack. I just don't know where to begin looking."
Tyler hummed. "Well, a lot of us like to keep to ourselves for the full moon, chain ourselves up. But there are some werewolves that like to gather in places where they don't have to do that, where they can enjoy it."
"What kind of places?"
"Mountains, state parks, deserts, that kind of stuff."
"Anywhere in Tennessee?"
"Yeah," said Tyler. "Here, give me your phone. I'll try to pull up a map."
She handed it to him, and he started to search on the map. "Thanks for this. I know it's asking a lot."
"As Caroline likes to remind me," said Tyler, "Stefan's in this mess because I bit Damon. I figure I owe you one. Have you talked to her today?"
"No," said Elena. "Why?"
"Just curious," said Tyler. "Here." He handed her the map, showing the Smoky Mountains. "That's your best bet."
"Perfect," said Elena. "Thank you."
"Wait," said Rosalind. "Elena, tonight is the full moon. Are you planning on looking for them on a full moon?"
"We can't delay the search," said Elena. "Ric is going with me."
"And Alaric is supposed to do... what, exactly, against a pack of wolves? Jules's pack had nine people in it. If this pack happens to be near the size of that or bigger, you'll be in danger."
"Don't worry, Ric has weapons we can use. We'll be out of there before the full moon hits its apex."
Rosalind pursed her lips. "It's eight o'clock right now. Driving to Tennessee will take you five, almost six hours. You'll be there in the afternoon, and you'll have from around two o'clock until sunset to do what you're gonna do and get out of there or you'll be in danger. And that arrival time is assuming you don't stop too often for food and gas. You definitely don't want the experience of being mauled to death."
"We'll be careful," said Elena, patting her hand. "Promise. Thank you." She got to her feet and went to join Alaric at the bar. A minute later, they left.
"If you're worried, you can go with them," said Tyler.
"No," said Rosalind. "I'd rather they didn't go at all, if I'm being honest. Listen, I can deal with you because I'm your blood and kin, your wolf knows that. But I am not going to be a match for a wolf pack who doesn't recognize me, and neither are they. Besides, I need to be here for you tonight."
Tyler looked around the restaurant. "Which makes me wonder where Caroline is." He drummed his fingers against the table. "We have met here every full moon to head to the cellar together."
"Maybe she's still asleep," said Rosalind. "It is pretty early. Come on, let's just go play pool, she'll get here soon."
They started one game. Then another. And another. Matt and Jeremy kept passing by them making strange faces. At last, Matt stopped to refill Tyler's coffee. "You two moving in or something? You've been here forever."
"I thought we were meeting Caroline," said Tyler. "You haven't seen her, have you?"
Matt shook his head. "Not keeping up on her comings and goings anymore."
"Look, man," said Tyler, "I never meant for me and her being friends to be a problem for you."
Matt shrugged good-naturedly. "It is what it is. Tonight's a full moon. She usually helps you?"
"Yeah. Whatever."
"Do you, uh... is this like the kind of thing that you need two people for?"
"We've got it under control," said Rosalind. "Unless you want to watch me sit next to wolf Tyler and pet behind his ears. He's more docile now. And adorable."
Tyler made a face. "I could bite your hand off with no effort."
"But you don't because you like when I scratch behind your ears."
Tyler shrugged and took a sip from his coffee, grimacing immediately. "Ahh... what is up with my taste buds today?"
Matt chuckled lightly. "It's the vervain. The sheriff has me slip it into the coffee here every now and then."
The wolf paled. "That's what vervain tastes like?"
"Yeah," said Matt. "I'm surprised you can taste it, the coffee usually hides the flavour. For humans, anyway." He held up the pot to show he had to go refill it.
"Rosie," said Tyler gravely, "my mom put vervain in the coffee today."
She tensed. "She knows about Caroline. You don't think she—? Don't her and Liz trust Damon to handle this? Damon wouldn't have hurt Caroline, so do you think she took matters into her own hands or something?"
"I don't know," said Tyler. "But we need to get home, now."
Since Tyler had walked, they drove back in Rosalind's car. "You know," he said, trying to pretend he wasn't nervous, "you should give Matt some more attention to help him get over Caroline."
Rosalind snorted. "Tyler, no. He's cute but I'd just end up breaking his heart! I could never like him beyond a friends-with-benefits arrangement and I don't think he could handle that. Besides, he's like a brother to you... or he was before all this happened. I value the friendship I'm building with him and I don't want to ruin that. I think Matt's just been having a tough time coming to terms with everything... he must feel so overwhelmed and powerless. He's already lost so much and he probably fears he'll keep losing people and there won't be anything he can do about it. It's probably easier for him to resent it all than try to care and accept it because then his pain will be worse the next time someone gets hurt or dies. Plus, he seems like, super moral, or at least he tries to be moral. And considering how we become werewolves and what happens once someone is a vampire... he's likely having some internal conflict about all that. What he can and can't let slide. He probably feels that because we're all his friends, he has to justify what we do. And on the inside he hates that."
Tyler stared at her. "You gathered that from just a few weeks of seeing him at The Grill?"
"I'm assuming a lot. But I think I'm probably right."
She parked in front of the mansion, and the two stepped out quickly. Carol was in her husband's office, looking through a stack of papers.
Tyler got to confronting her immediately. "You put vervain in my coffee this morning. Why?"
"Vervain?" said Carol. "What are you talking about?"
"Let's skip the part where we pretend we don't know about the vampires in this town. You were testing us to see if we were vampires. I want to know why."
Carol sighed. "You two have been spending so much time with Caroline. I had to know for sure."
"What does Caroline have to do with it?"
The Mayor crossed her arms. "Let's skip the part where we pretend she's not one of them."
"What happened to Caroline?" inquired Rosalind. "We haven't heard from her all day. Did you vervain her, too?"
Carol didn't respond to those questions. "I don't want either of you being near her anymore."
"Where is she, Mom?" asked Tyler.
"Tyler, I don't want you to be with her. I can't let you be together."
"What did you do to her? Where is she?"
"You can't be with her," Carol insisted. "She's a monster."
Tyler made a face. "So... you really have no idea about me, do you? We haven't exactly been subtle."
Carol blinked. "Know what? Know what, Tyler?"
He glanced at his cousin. "Should we take her tonight?"
"I think so," said Rosalind. "She won't be at risk, you'll still recognize her as your mother." She grabbed her aunt's arm. "No time to be gentle, come on."
"What are you doing?" she demanded as they dragged her out of the house. "Where are you taking me?"
"You know, I didn't want to say anything because I thought it was safer," said Rosalind to Tyler. "It minimized the complications of having to explain it all. But if she figured out about Caroline, I would think she'd have some background knowledge about the Lockwood lineage?"
"I would think she'd know something considering the Founder's Council has their secret meetings all the time. But I guess not."
"Well, to be fair, vampires were outside the Council when it was made. But the Lockwoods have always been part of the Council, so they wouldn't expose their own secrets."
Carol was starting to get very frustrated the closer they got to the Lockwood cellar. "Tyler, Rosalind, what is this? Just... just tell me."
"You need to see for yourself," said Tyler. When they reached the cellar, they pulled her down the stairs.
Rosalind quickly ushered her behind one of the gates where she would be safe, locking it tightly. "You think Caroline's a monster?" said Tyler as Rosalind set out the blankets and he began to chain himself up. "I'm the monster, Mom."
"What?" said Carol in shock. "Tyler, what—?"
Tyler let out a grunt, holding his side. "I think it's starting earlier."
"You got yourself all worked up," said Rosalind. "That's probably why. Here—" she handed him a shot glass filled with wolfsbane water. "Just a little bit. You don't need much, you've already grown accustomed to the fact you won't get to roam free."
"Tyler, what are you doing?" shrieked Carol. "Rosalind, what is that you're giving him?"
"It may look like piss but I promise it's not," said Rosalind as Tyler drank, gagging lightly. "Ready?"
"Ready," said Tyler. Rosalind stepped back, nearing the cage.
Tyler got on all fours, preparing himself. "Me, Uncle Mason, Rosie, it's in our blood. It's our family curse."
"What curse?" asked Carol.
Tyler's arm suddenly snapped to the side. "Tyler!" she cried when she saw he was in pain. "What's happening? What's happening?!"
He yelled out, his eyes glowing and fangs emerging. His bones began to break in sequence while Carol screamed her head off, and a few minutes later, he stood before them, a full wolf.
"Good," said Rosalind, caressing his head as he sneered at his mother. "That's your mom, remember? She's family. Not a wolf, but family."
"I think I'm going to pass out," said Carol weakly, sitting down behind the gate and looking at him. "What... what is this?"
"The Lockwood curse," said Rosalind. "I'm not sure how it all began but it's genetic in our line, and in other wolf lines. Do you know how Tyler used to be? All aggressive and easily angered? My Uncle Richard was the same. I'm the same. When Sarah died that day at the Masquerade Ball, it triggered Tyler's curse. Since then, every full moon, he has to turn into a wolf. You take a human life, and the curse is yours forever. Same thing happened to my dad. But my uncle never killed, so it didn't happen to him. I haven't killed. But it could happen anytime. Accidentally, intentionally. Our anger issues makes it hard not to trigger the curse. This... this is why my Uncle Richard was affected by the Gilbert device. This is why he was believed to be a vampire. Because he was a supernatural. Not a vampire, but a werewolf."
She started to tear up. "This is the truth behind my father's death. Jenna Sommers's death. John Gilbert's death. There is so much to explain. But what you need to know is that a very evil vampire needed to kill a werewolf, a vampire, and a doppelgänger using a moonstone to undo a curse on himself. My dad came here to get the moonstone. And a vampire made him trigger his curse and would have let him be sacrificed if he wasn't killed prior to that. His ashes are in an urn I have in my room. I never wanted to tell you because it would just bring up too many questions. An investigation. I didn't want that. So... when we came back, it was because a witch made you have an accident that we ended up visiting you at the hospital. We got kidnapped. Tyler and Caroline almost died. Jules did die, and so did Jenna, who was forced to become a vampire. John gave his life to save Elena."
She reached through the bars to take her aunt's hand as Tyler came to lay closer to them, relaxed and frankly, bummed out that he couldn't go anywhere. "Caroline has been helping Tyler since day one, when she didn't have to. She risks her life each time she comes here, but she does it because she cares about him. She became a vampire against her will, but she has used it to do good. She is good. Tyler is still your son. He's still a confident, playful teenager who..." she laughed weakly, "still doesn't know if he wants to go to college or not, but will end up making the decision at the last minute like he always does. Nobody asked for this. And if it ever happens to me, I'm pretty sure it won't be my choice. But we make the best of it. And we don't use it to hurt people."
Carol nodded slowly. Rosalind went on to explain a little more of the background she was aware of, highlighting the different abilities wolves had in comparison to vampires. She wasn't sure how much her aunt actually absorbed. She kept looking at Tyler, who appeared to be an adorable overgrown puppy at the moment, sleeping throughout the full moon and occasionally wagging his tail.
He transformed back into his human form before sunrise. Rosalind went through the usual drill of helping him clean up and get dressed. He looked over at his mother, who had relaxed visibly since the moment she was brought in.
"I'll take care of it," she said softly. "I'll make sure nothing happens to her."
"Thank you," said Tyler. Rosalind quickly unchained him, and freed her aunt. The three of them walked back to the Lockwood Mansion, and as soon as Tyler was in his room, he was knocked out on the bed, snoring loudly.
Rosalind was exhausted, but still made sure to text Elena before she fell asleep, to ask if her quest in the Smoky Mountains had gone alright. Elena reported that Klaus had been unsuccessful in siring hybrids up until this point, and they'd gotten lucky that Klaus hadn't seen them. But he most certainly had been there with Stefan.
"Okay," muttered Rosalind to herself. "Did my job, checked in, good fucking night..." her head hit the pillow and she passed out.
"I have bad news," said Carol meekly once she and Tyler were up and all having breakfast with Rosalind. "I... I called Caroline's father when I confirmed she was a vampire. He has her in the old Forbes jail cell, but he doesn't want to release her."
"I'll go speak with Caroline's mom," said Tyler. "She has to be able to help. She knows the truth about all of us."
Carol nodded slowly. "Just be careful, Tyler."
"I will be, Mom. I should get going." He gave her a kiss on the cheek then darted away.
"I need to get to work," said Rosalind, going to wash her dishes. "I'll be back later."
"Oh, sweetheart," said Carol before she could leave. "Just one more thing, I finally set the date for the Founder's Potluck we have before the kids go back to school. It'll be on August thirtieth."
"Sounds good," said Rosalind. "I'll probably not have work that day for either job. I need to start looking for something else to do once the school year starts."
"Honey, you don't have to work, you know?"
"I know, but I want to. I like making my own money."
"Well, maybe you could work as a receptionist at the hospital if you won't be attending college."
She smiled slightly. "You really want a doctor in the family, huh?"
She shrugged. "It would be nice."
"I might see if I can stay on as a cross country and track coach. And then, maybe, I'll see if I can intern or something for the athletic trainer at the high school since I'll still be working with the athletes. I can start learning about the career and see if it's something I'd like to study in the future."
Carol beamed. "That sounds like a great idea. Have a good day at work."
"Thanks," said Rosalind. "You, too."
As soon as she was done with her final shift of the day, she was able to check her phone and saw that Tyler and Sheriff Forbes had been successful in finding Caroline. Before heading back to the mansion, Rosalind went to the Forbes House and took some time to make Liz and Caroline something to eat for dinner. Tyler said he was going to spend some time with Caroline just to make sure she was already after the torture her father had inflicted upon her.
"I just hope she'll be okay," said Liz quietly as she ate some of the pasta that Rosalind had made.
"She will be," said Rosalind. "She's tough. I just wish I could... you know, make people not see vampires and werewolves as these evil creatures. I mean, he's her dad and he can't... can't see past that. He's a gay man, he's been one for awhile. Ever since I started questioning my sexuality, I tried to be more open-minded and it wasn't difficult. You just ask more questions politely, inform yourself, and you realize that it's normal for people to be different from one another. It's not like she chose this. She's done such a good job of it. It pains me that someone like him wouldn't understand it. He of all people knows what it's like to be seen as dirty by the majority of society. Everyone's perspective of me changes when they find out I'm gay. And I just wish it didn't have to be that way."
Liz gave her a small smile. "I should get going," said Rosalind. "I want to check on Elena before I go home."
"Thank you for the food," said Liz. "We appreciate it."
Rosalind smiled. "You're welcome."
She took some of the cookies she had baked for Caroline in a small Tupperware container, and drove to the Gilbert House. Elena opened the door for her to come in, and immediately, Rosalind sensed something was wrong.
"What happened?" she asked. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," said Elena quietly. "Don't worry. You've had a long day, don't... don't trouble yourself. Thank you for the cookies."
"Elena," said Rosalind. "I can tell when you're lying about how you're feeling... it's painfully obvious. What happened?"
"It's Stefan," she murmured. "Damon and I went to see him. He and Klaus are in Chicago. And um... he's given up. He just gave up. So I... I need to stuff my face with these cookies before I start to cry."
"It's okay to cry," said Rosalind as Elena started to eat. "It doesn't make you weak to cry."
"I know," said Elena. "But it feels like it does. I know what people say about me when they see me crying. They call me a cry baby. I've heard it... Caroline's heard it... Bonnie's heard it... lately it feels like I'm always crying."
"Look at everything you've been through," said Rosalind. "I'd be more concerned if you weren't crying. Who cares what those people think? They'll never understand your pain. So they don't get to have an opinion about it."
Elena's lip trembled, and she started to cry while still chewing on the cookies. Rosalind had to force back a laugh when she saw the girl's cheeks puffing out like an adorable (but devastated) chipmunk.
"Thank you," said Elena after she swallowed the last bite, tear stains all over her cheeks. "Right now, it feels like you're the only person that doesn't judge me no matter what I'm feeling."
Rosalind shrugged. "I have no room to judge. I have my own issues and I wouldn't want anyone judging me for that, you know?"
"You seem to have your life pretty together."
"On the contrary, Elena," said Rosalind, "it takes everything in me to not fall apart every day. I miss my dad, I miss Jules, I miss all the wolves who were a part of my life. Just as I'm sure you miss those you've lost. But if I don't keep it together, I can't help Tyler."
Elena's expression softened. "You're doing so much to help other people, but who's helping you?"
"I've had to learn to just help myself. It's hard to rely on anyone when no one has stuck around. My dad was the one constant, but... not anymore. I don't like getting attached to anyone for the sake of feeling sane because in the end, everyone just leaves. They always leave."
Elena took her hand. "I'm not going anywhere. If you need me, I will be here. No judgment. I promise."
"Don't promise something like that, Elena," said Rosalind quietly. "You know as well as I do that you being alive has something to do with why Klaus can't make hybrids. The face you bear, the blood that runs in your veins, it puts you in grave danger and I worry that something will happen to you."
She corrected herself, "Then, I promise, as long as I am here, well and alive, I will be here for you, Rosalind. As long as it's within my power to help you... I will."