A/N: This has not been edited. I just wanted to get it out because it's been so long. Any tweaks made later will be small and not affect the story. I apologize for the delay.
***
The decision was made to take Liz back the boarding house and wait for the vervain to leave her system so she could be compelled. Lucy was less than thrilled with the plan but kept her mouth shut. It would easy enough for her to avoid the dungeon while they had a guest.
Caroline had just arrived home after going to retrieve some clothes for her mother's stay. Lucy followed her friend to the basement, unwilling to leave her alone with her mother after the earlier events. They had nearly reached the room when the threads of conversation reached them.
"Keep Caroline away from me, please," Liz said, her voice breaking.
"What?" Damon responded. "What are you talking about? She's your daughter, Liz."
"Not anymore, she's not."
Caroline whimpered low in her throat and dropped the suitcase as her hand flew to her mouth. Tears pooled in her eyes. She fled back up the stairs.
Lucy growled in irritation and stepped into the room. "I can't believe you. What the hell is wrong with you? You fucking bitch." She strode across the room as she yelled. A firm arm impacted with her waist and swept her up to keep her from getting any closer to the sheriff.
"Easy, kitten." Damon's voice in her ear served to calm her. Slightly.
"She hurt Caroline," Lucy protested as she struggled uselessly against her boyfriend's hold.
He simply tightened his grip and shifted his hold so he was hugging her to his chest. "I know, baby. It's okay. It's all gonna be okay."
It wasn't. She knew that. But having Damon tell her everything would be fine while he held her and ran fingers through her hair went a long way to shifting her emotions. Suddenly feeling very tired, Lucy leaned against him. "She made her cry." Lucy's voice was weak, defeated. She tore her gaze away from the other woman and focused all her attention on Damon. "She probably doesn't even care. She's too fucking selfish. Always has been."
Lucy pulled herself from the vampire's hold and headed up the stairs to find Caroline. Stopping at the top of the stairs, Lucy took a deep breath and pulled herself together. She had to be strong and positive for her friend.
Her friend that she couldn't seem to find anywhere. Giving up, Lucy stood in the entryway and yelled the blonde's name. Stefan appeared a minute later. "She's with me."
That was all Lucy needed to know. She gave him a nod in acknowledgement. "Take care of her and tell her I love her."
In a flash, he was gone. Lucy was overdue for a meal but right now the only thing she wanted was a nap. Well, she'd prefer a nap with her favorite vampire but figured he'd come to find her in a bit. She hadn't even reached the stairs when she was joined by said vampire. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her temple.
"Today sucked."
He hummed in agreement as he steered her toward the bedroom.
"The next time you want to be civic minded and I say skip it, we skip it," she said with a huff.
He smirked and kissed her temple again. "Whatever you want, kitten."
***
The next couple of days passed in a quiet haze of melancholy as Caroline's mood affected them all. Not that any of them blamed her, but it sucked to see one of your people hurting and not being able to do anything about it.
Damon had just returned from dropping Liz off at home after compelling her. Lucy didn't ask specifics but the glint in his eye told her he hadn't stuck straight to the script. Before she could comment, her phone buzzed announcing Elijah requesting a face call.
She answered with a smile. "Well, if it isn't my favorite vampire."
"Hey," her roommates said in unison as they pouted.
She couldn't help but laugh and even Elijah chuckled. "Hello, little one. I need to speak with your Salvatores as well if you would summon them."
They came and sat on either side of her, leaning in to wave at the Original. "What's up?" Lucy asked.
"I have a task I would like them to complete. I find myself short of reliable help these days and need someone I can trust to be discrete." He sounded tired and Lucy wondered what all was going on with him. She hated when he worked himself too hard.
The brothers exchanged a glance and a shrug. "What's the task?" Damon asked.
Elijah pursed his lips. "I believe I have located something I have been searching for. I need the two of you to confirm the information for me."
"Don't you have minions for this sort of thing?" Lucy asked.
"Yes, well, I've had some unfortunate loyalty issues as of late. I people I know I can trust. And no, you can't go. It's too dangerous."
Lucy rolled her eyes but remained quiet. The boys exchanged a look before turning back to the screen. "We would be happy to help, but we won't leave the girls here unprotected. Katherine's been quiet but I have a feeling she's just biding her time," Stefan said.
"I don't need a babysitter," Lucy argued.
"Yes, you do," three male voices responded in unison. Caroline chuckled from the other side of the room.
Lucy twitched in annoyance. "Fine. Then I want Lexi."
Both Salvatores immediately nodded their heads. "That would work nicely," Damon agreed. "She has to come up from Georgia. We can head off as soon as she gets here."
"Very well. Simply call when you are ready to depart." Elijah turned his full attention back on his niece. "Enough business. How have you been?"
She shrugged. "Okay."
"She got shot," Stefan piped up from beside her. Lucy turned her glare on him only for him to ignore her as his lips twitched in amusement.
"Lucy?" Elijah said to reclaim her attention.
She looked at him with wide innocent eyes. "What? I got better."
The vampire sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he looked at the floor.
Damon shook as he failed to stifle his laughter and she elbowed him in the ribs. "Hush you."
***
"Caroline, why do you volunteer for absolutely everything?" Lucy asked with a groan as they arrived at the Lockwood's the next day. As part of the never-ending Founder's celebrations, the Lockwoods were hosting a masquerade. Caroline had agreed to help with the decorating and had dragged her friends along to help.
"You've got to quit being such a hermit, Lucy. It's good for you to get out of the house every now and then," Caroline responded with a nudge.
The brothers chuckled lowly from where they trailed behind their girlfriends. Lucy raised a hand to flip them off without a look in their direction. "I don't mind getting out of the house," she argued. "It's just...people." She gestured at all the workers and volunteers buzzing around the area.
Caroline rolled her eyes as she grabbed her friend's hand to drag her off and find where they would be the most useful.
Two hours later, Damon found them elbows deep in a flower arrangement where they were switching out red roses for burgundy. It really made all the difference. Or so Lucy had been told, anyway. He laced his fingers with hers and glanced around before leading her away. He looked over his shoulder. "You too, blondie. Let's go."
Caroline frowned but followed along just the same. The walked around the side of the house to meet up with Stefan. He placed a finger to his lips so they'd be quiet as they joined him. It was obvious he was listening to something far away. She leaned into his side and his arm automatically found its way around her waist as he kissed her temple.
Stefan's gaze suddenly focused and he pursed his lips. "We have a problem."
Lucy huffed a laugh. "Don't we always."
He didn't respond beyond flicking his eyes in her direction. "Mason Lockwood is working with Katherine."
"Why?" Caroline asked.
"We think they're dating," he explained.
Damon rolled his eyes. "Having sex does not equal dating. This is Katherine we're talking about."
"How did you find out?" Lucy asked.
"Bonnie had a vision," Stefan said.
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Just because she didn't like the witch didn't mean she wasn't occasionally useful. It just meant Lucy didn't like to admit it.
"That's not all. He also has the moonstone."
She frowned. "What moonstone?"
"The one binding the curse." Damon sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You're sure?"
His brother nodded. "Tyler just told Jeremy."
Lucy's head hurt. "Why is the little Gilbert involved in this? Why do we even care in the first place? What is going on? This is what happens when you plot without me."
Caroline laughed then covered her mouth to muffle the sound. Lucy grinned at her though she'd only been partially joking.
"It was one of the things Elijah is looking for. He'd heard a rumor it was in town," Damon finally explained after a stretch of quiet.
Irritation slithered through her. She didn't like being left out of things, especially when Elijah was involved. She also didn't care for the feeling she'd been getting lately that the boys knew something about her uncle they weren't sharing. She swallowed her annoyance and nodded. After all, they were only following orders. Maybe she shouldn't have introduced them to each other.
"Well, what are we going to do?" Stefan asked.
"I guess we need to talk to Mason."
Lucy looked at Damon with a raised brow. "That should be easy. You all have such a friendly relationship after all."
He gave her a look that said he didn't find her amusing in the slightest.
"Why don't you just kidnap him?" Caroline suggested after a beat, causing the other three to stare at her in surprise.