"So that's what a werewolf bite looks like."
Damon and Katherine stood next to each other in Alaric's apartment, both observing the werewolf bite on Damon's wrist.
"Yep."
"It's not that bad," Katherine stated.
"Will be," Damon said, a dark look on his face.
He rolled down his sleeve. Katherine looked at him.
"So that's it? You're just...going to die?"
He looked at her.
"Well, that depends. You know anything about a cure?" She shook her head and Damon shrugged. "Me, either."
"145 years and no last good-bye?" Katherine asked as he went to exit the apartment.
"You don't get a good-bye," he stated coldly.
Katherine vamp sped in front of him, placing her hand on his chest.
"No. Don't leave mad."
"Us ending up on good terms isn't exactly on my bucket list, Katherine."
He attempted to leave again but Katherine didn't budge.
"Klaus made me call Jenna to lure her out. There was nothing that I could do. I didn't have a choice."
"That's why I gave you the vervain. So you had a choice."
Katherine shook her head.
"It was her or me. I chose her."
"I helped you," Damon hissed. "You owed me. Now when Klaus dies, you're going to walk out of here without a scratch and Elena's aunt dies. Somehow you're the only one that wins. How'd that happen?"
She shrugged.
"I didn't let love get in the way."
Damon scoffed.
"Enjoy an eternity alone, Katherine."
He walked towards the front door.
"What are you going to do?" Katherine asked.
He turned around to look at her.
"I'm going to offer myself as a replacement to Klaus."
Katherine shook her head.
"He won't take you. He saw your bite, he said that your blood is impure. I'm sorry, Damon. But Jenna's dead, there's nothing you can do about it."
Bonnie and Jeremy were sitting in the basement of the old witch house, flipping through Grimoire after Grimoire.
"This is useless," Jeremy said, voice laced with frustration. "All these Grimoires. There has to be something in here to keep Elena from becoming a vampire."
"And we'll keep looking," Bonnie assured him. "Until the last minute."
Outside of the witch house, Alaric and Stefan were discussing their plan.
"Elijah told us that the sacrifice is completed in stages as the full moon sets," Stefan said. "First the werewolf is killed, then the vampire. Finally the doppelgänger. Once Elena dies, the curse will be broken. Klaus will become hybrid."
"So when do we attack?" Alaric asked.
"Elena's death will activate his dormant werewolf side. He'll be vulnerable during the transformation. That's when Bonnie comes in."
Alaric nodded and then sighed as sadness flashed over his face.
"And Bonnie is sure she wants to do this? Even if..."
Stefan nodded, a dark look on his face.
"She is determined to end both Klaus and Elijah, even if it costs her life. And she's right, They are too dangerous to be allowed to live."
Suddenly his phone began to buzz in his jacket. He pulled it out.
"Damon," Stefan greeted his brother on the other end of the line.
"You're not going to like what I'm about to say," Damon said.
Stefan rolled his eyes.
"Cut to the chase. Is the sacrifice happening or not?"
"It's happening. I tried to stop it, but it got...complicated."
"We're sticking with the original plan," Stefan told him. "We're meeting Bonnie right now."
There was a short pause at the other end of the line.
"He's got Jenna, Stefan."
"What?"
"He got Kath to lure her out of the house."
Stefan looked at Alaric with a worried expression.
The vampire hunter picked up on that.
"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked the youngest Salvatore, panic in his voice.
"He's going to use her as the vampire in the ritual," Damon informed his brother over the phone.
Stefan's face paled.
"Oh my god."
At the quarry, Elena was pacing back and forth in the circle of fire Greta had casted around her to keep her from running. Not that she actually had a chance, with Elijah standing close to the altar, watching her and the unknown woman a few feet away from her. She cowered on the ground, whimpering in fear, eyes moving frantically between Elena and the Original. Elena gave her a short glance. She felt sorry for the poor creature that had been forcibly taken from her home and her family and turned into a vampire only to be sacrificed at a stone altar.
Behind them, twigs were snapping and Greta came into view, dragging a groaning woman behind her. The unknown vampire looked at Elena.
"Who's that?"
"That must be the werewolf," Elena answered, looking at the at the approaching figures curiously.
Greta threw the woman on the ground. The female werewolf clutched her stomach and continued to groan in pain.
"What's happening to me?" she managed to press out in between groans, glaring at the witch.
"I cast a spell to slow down your transformation," Greta explained, not an ounce of emotion on her face. "Your insides are trying to tear themselves free."
She stepped away from the werewolf and with a flick of her wrist, a third circle of fire appeared, this time around the werewolf. She walked toward the altar. Elena turned to her, eyes full of desperation. Yes, she had initially agreed to go through with the ritual but that was before Damon had forced his blood down her throat. She didn't want to become a vampire. So maybe if she got the witch on her side, she could delay the ritual until next month.
"Greta, witches are supposed to maintain the balance in nature. It's your duty to them to keep this curse sealed."
Greta shot her a short, unimpressed glance.
"My duty is to Klaus! The new order."
In that moment Klaus came striding toward them.
"Glad to know I still have a dance partner."
He looked at Elena, the werewolf and the vampire, lips curved up in a bright smile.
"Hello, my lovelies. Are we ready?"
At the Boarding House, someone was persistently knocking on the door. Damon sighed as he walked down the stairs.
"Heard ya."
On his way to the door he felt dizzy all of a sudden and stumbled. He rolled up his sleeve and looked at the werewolf bite. It had gotten worse. His time was running out. He rolled the sleeve back down again and sighed heavily before answering the door. John Gilbert was standing in front of him. Damon groaned.
"Great. I was just thinking about getting a bite to eat."
"Elena hasn't returned any of my calls for days. I need to see her," John stated, walking past Damon into the house. Damon shut the door close and turned around.
"Well, you're a day late and a daughter short, John."
John frowned at him.
"What are you talking about?"
"Klaus has her. Sacrifice goes down tonight."
John glared at him.
"How could you let that happen? You were supposed to keep her safe. Wasn't that the sum total of your plan? To keep her safe?"
"She is safe," Damon stated, slightly annoyed. "I fed her my blood."
"You what?!"
Damon shrugged.
"When Klaus kills Elena in the sacrifice, she will come back to life. Granted, as the thing you hate most in the world, but no one really cares what you think."
John looked at him furiously, trying to grab him but vamp sped him against the wall.
"You do not want to mess with me right now," he hissed before letting him go.
John straightened up and looked at Damon, eyes full of contempt.
"You ruined her life. You know that, right?"
Damon rolled his eyes at him.
"I know, John. I took her choice, destroyed her future. Trust me, I get it. It actually gets worse."
He walked back into the parlor.
"How could it possibly get any worse?" John asked, following him.
Back at the quarry, the ritual was about to start. Klaus joined Greta and his brother at the altar and pulled the moonstone out of his pocket, staring at it for a moment.
"I've got the moonstone. I spent five hundred years looking for this. I hate to part with it."
He sighed and handed it to Greta. She took it and looked up in the sky.
"The moon has passed its apex," she stated and then looked back at Klaus. "Remember everything you need to do?"
He nodded.
"I remember." Then, he looked at his brother. "The time has finally come, Elijah."
Elijah nodded at him and smiled faintly.
"Indeed it has."
Klaus looked into the distance with a slightly woefully look.
"I only wish our mate was here to witness this moment."
"She is safer in her apartment," Elijah said. "Damon Salvatore already tried to ruin the ritual. I wouldn't put it past him and Stefan to try and use her as leverage against us."
Klaus growled.
"Let us hope they are not dumb or desperate enough to try it."
He nodded at Greta, who then proceeded to drop the moonstone in the flaming bowl on the altar. Flames shot up as the moonstone was destroyed by the magical fire. Greta closed her eyes and began to chant a spell in Latin. Klaus made his way back to Elena the other two women. The werewolf groaned in pain and looked at Elena.
"Everything I did...I was just trying to help Tyler."
Understanding dawned on Elena's face.
"Are you Jules?" she asked gently.
The werewolf nodded.
"I didn't want him to be alone!"
Klaus came to a stop in front of her and looked down.
"Shall we?"
The ring of fire around her dispersed and Jules got up from the ground, eyes turning yellow as she sped towards Klaus, trying to kill him. But Klaus was stronger and had her pinned to the ground within seconds, hand plunging into her chest before he ripped out her heart. As he held up his bloody hand with Jules' heart, Elena looked away, suddenly feeling nauseous while the newly turned vampire gasped in shock.
Jeremy was still looking through Grimoires, searching for a way to rescue his sister from becoming a vampire. Bonnie looked over his shoulder.
"Which one are you reading?"
"Emily Bennett's," he answered. "There's a section on spells she did for my ancestor, Johnathan Gilbert."
"Yeah, I think she had a thing for him."
He looked up at Bonnie and they looked at each other for a moment. Jeremy cleared his throat awkwardly and then looked back at the pages.
"There's something on a resuscitative spell she was working on."
Bonnie nodded.
"I saw that, too. She just didn't explain what it did, exactly."
"Well, maybe Johnathan wrote about it in his journals. You know, I can have Stefan bring them."
The basement door suddenly creaked open and Bonnie turned around, instantly on alert.
"Someone's here," she whispered.
A few seconds later Alaric appeared in front of them. Jeremy looked at him, frowning.
"Hey, what are you doing here?"
"Stefan is upstairs," he said, before turning to Bonnie. "You mind if I have a second with Jeremy?"
Bonnie nodded.
"Sure, yeah. Of course."
Then got up and left the basement.
"What's the matter?" Jeremy asked Alaric, alarmed.
The vampire hunter gave him a serious look.
"Jeremy...Something's happened to Jenna."
Outside the witch house, Bonnie had joined Stefan.
"Why did he take Jenna?" she asked him after he had explained to her what Damon told him.
He shrugged.
"A punishment for meddling I suppose. Klaus was going to use Tyler and Caroline. But Damon rescued them."
"Then we need to go. Now," she said, a determined look on her face. "Before Jenna's been sacrificed. I can kill Klaus before he finishes the ritual."
Stefan shook his head at her.
"Bonnie...you can't go against two Originals with full strength. I won't let you die for nothing."
"But we can't let Jenna die either!"
"I know," Stefan agreed. "That's why we're going to offer another vampire. One that he'll want more. Me."
I was pacing back and forth in my living room, anxiously waiting for news, any news about what was happening out there. I hated not knowing what was going on. After Andie had left to help her mate, Greta had brought Jenna over and locked both of us and the twins in the apartment.
"Klaus and Elijah both want you four to stay here tonight," she had explained. "This barrier works both ways. It keeps you from leaving and everyone else from entering. You'll be safe here, in case anyone tries to get to you. I'll be back in the morning to remove it."
Then she had left.
"Could you please stop pacing around? You're making me nervous." Jenna said. We was standing by the window, looking out into the night.
I sighed and dropped down on the couch.
"Sorry. I just hate being stuck here and not able to help."
Jenna turned around to look at me.
"I know. But there's nothing we can do except waiting for Greta to come back and let us out."
I groaned.
"I hate waiting. We haven't heard anything from Andie either. It's been hours since she left to help Maddox."
"I'm sure they're fine," Jenna tried to reassure me. "From what I've heard Maddox seems to be quiet a powerful warlock. I mean he bested Katherine, a five hundred plus year old vampire. I'm sure he can handle Damon."
"Well, let's hope you're right. I can't wait for this damn ritual to finally be over."
Jenna grimaced.
"That makes two of us."
We sat together in silence for a while.
"What are your original mates planning to do after the ritual?" Jenna asked me after a while. "Are they planning on settling down here?"
I shrugged.
"I don't know. Probably. We haven't talked about it yet. Up until now everything revolved around the ritual. I can't wait to settle into everyday life with them though. I've had enough excitement to last a lifetime."
"Ah yes, everyday life, just Stefan and Damon trying to kill them once a week and utterly failing you mean?"
I laughed.
"Yeah, something like that."
She chuckled.
"I doubt your life's ever going to get boring with them around. I mean, they got to have a long list of enemies."
I sighed.
"Don't remind of that. I just hope they give us a few quiet weeks before they try their luck."
Suddenly Jenna jumped to her feet.
"You know what? Why don't we start with every day life now?"
I looked at her in confusion. She grinned at me.
"What do you say about movie night? You and me, now? I think we both could do with a distraction."
I nodded.
"Sure, why not? But it's my turn to pick."
Sometime after Stefan had left, Damon and John joined Jeremy, Bonnie and Alaric at the old witch house. John walked down the stairs into the basement, carrying a box of journals and putting it down on the table in front of Jeremy.
"I brought the Gilbert journals. I think I know the spell you're talking about."
"Where's Damon?" Bonnie asked.
"Upstairs," John answered. "Alaric wanted to talk to him."
Then the three of them started to put the journals out of the box to flip through them.
Upstairs, Alaric had just explained Damon what Stefan was about to do.
"He did what?!"
Damon was almost screaming.
"He wasn't going to let Jenna die," Alaric explained.
Damon groaned in frustration.
"We have a witch. She kills Klaus and Elijah. No one has to die!"
"Except for Bonnie," Alaric added, a sad look on his face. "He wants us to wait until at least one of them is vulnerable so her death won't be for nothing."
"God, Stefan, damn it!"
Damon punched against the wall with so much force that his hand and a good part of his arm broke through. He pulled them out. Alaric looked at him, concerned.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Damon said, after he had calmed down. "Well, that's my brother for you. Always cleaning up my messes."
With that he left the house.
Meanwhile, Klaus was ready for the next part of the ritual. He approached the vampire.
"Hello, my dear."
She looked at him, eyes full of fear. He was about to step closer, when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Well, well," he said, turning around to look at the top of the quarry. "I don't recall you being on the guest list."
Elena looked up as well and saw Stefan standing there. She gasped. Why was he here?
"I'm here to talk," Stefan said from the top of the cliff.
Klaus sighed.
"Very well, then."
He took one last look at the vampire in front of him before vamp speeding to the top of the cliff and then calmly walking towards Stefan.
"What can I do for you, Mr. Salvatore?"
John, Jeremy, Bonnie and Damon were assembled in the witch house's basement.
"We found something in the Gilbert journals," Bonnie informed Damon.
"Johnathan journaled the story of a mother who called on Emily's services," John continued. "The woman's baby was sick; dying. Emily cast a spell that would bind the woman's life force with her child."
"Skip to the save Elena part," Damon said impatiently, not interested in hearing the story.
"Well, the child died, but the mother's life force flowed through her, restoring her to life."
"We already know Elena's going to come back to life. But she'll be a vampire," Jeremy added.
"Not if her soul remains intact," John said.
Damon scoffed and looked at him.
"Her soul, really? You're going to put your faith in some act of god mumbo jumbo?"
John walked closer to Damon, looking at him intently.
"I refuse to let Elena become the thing I've spent my life protecting her against. And you can call that God or mystical energy, whatever you want, but yes...I'm putting my faith in it."
Then he turned around, walking back to Bonnie and Jeremy.
"You don't need to kill Jenna. I'll take her place," Stefan said, looking at Klaus.
Klaus frowned slightly at the mention of Jenna but decided to continue his game.
"Oh, I don't know. I rather appreciate the symmetry of three women," he said, circling Stefan. "Three goddesses - sacrificed at nature's altar."
"Don't play games with me. You'll get what you want either way."
Klaus raised his eyebrow at him.
"You're quite the hero, aren't you? I've heard that about you."
Stefan looked at him blankly.
"Just make the trade. Me for Jenna."
Klaus stopped circling him.
"Well, that might be a bit difficult seeing as Jenna isn't here."
Stefan frowned.
"What?"
Klaus gestured toward the quarry.
"Take a look for yourself. Whatever makes you think Jenna is in my possession, I don't have her."
Stefan took a closer look at the vampire in the circle of fire. It wasn't Jenna. They had the same hair color and a similar hairstyle but it wasn't her. He looked back at Klaus.
"But...why did Katherine tell Damon you made her lure Jenna out of the house?"
Klaus laughed.
"Katerina, Katerina. Causing trouble wherever she goes." He looked at Stefan. "One should think you and your brother have learned by now not to trust a single word she says."
"But why did she lie to Damon? What could she possibly gain from this?" Stefan shook his head. "No, you must be hiding Jenna somewhere."
"I assure you, Stefan, Jenna is not in our possession," Elijah said, having just joined them at the cliff. "As dastardly as my brother might be, he would never betray our mate."
"Stefan opened his mouth to say something but then decided against it. Klaus smiled at him deviously.
"You see, I don't have Jenna but that suggestion of yours is quite tempting. What do you say? Shall we ask Elena what she thinks about it?"
Matt was sitting in the parlor of the Lockwood Mansion, staring absentminded into the fire as Caroline joined him.
"How's Tyler doing?"
"Sleeping," she answered. "He should be better by morning. He just...He needs some rest."
Matt nodded.
"Good." He paused for a moment before looking at her. "So this is your life now, huh?"
Caroline smiled at him.
"Never a dull moment."
He stood up and walked toward her.
"You know, these last few days with you have been so great, and fun." Caroline's smile got brighter. She walked over to him and placed a hand on his chest.
"And so Caroline. I-I thought that I might be able to get past this whole vampire thing," Matt continued and Caroline's smile died off her face.
"But you can. Matt..."
He shook his head, looking at her sadly.
"I don't - I don't know if I can, Caroline."
He walked past her toward the door.
"Matt!" Caroline called him back, tears forming in her eyes.
He turned around to look at her.
"I get it. This is your life now. You know what my life is, Care? My life is an absentee mom. And a bunch of bills to pay, and school, and a job, and it - and it sucks sometimes. But it's my life. And...I think that I just want to live it without all of this."
Caroline looked at him, completely heartbroken but she nodded in understanding.
Meanwhile at the old witch house Bonnie had placed her hands on John's head and chanted a spell with closed eyes. Damon approached them.
"Come on, Bonnie, it's time to go."
Jeremy gestured with his hand for him to be silent and let Bonnie finish the spell. A few seconds later Bonnie opened her eyes.
"It's done."
Damon looked at her.
"That's it? Let's go."
He left the room. Bonnie walked to Jeremy, a sad look on her face. Saying goodbye to him was the hardest part about this. She could only hope that one day he would understand why she needed to do this.
"I'll be back soon," she lied, blinking away the tears that had started to form in her eyes.
Jeremy frowned at her.
"Wait, what does that mean? Where are you going with Damon?"
Instead of answering, Bonnie stepped closer and kissed him gently. When she pulled back, Jeremy suddenly fell to the floor, unconscious. John caught him and gently sat him down on a chair.
"Easy, easy." He looked at Bonnie. "Just go. I'll stay with him."
Bonnie took one last longing look at Jeremy before she went upstairs to join Damon.
"All right. I got the weapons in the car," Alaric said as he joined them. Damon and Bonnie walked out of the front door and Alaric proceeded to follow them when he was suddenly held back by an invisible force.
"Bonnie! What is this?"
Bonnie stopped and looked back at him.
"I can't put anyone else at risk."
Alaric shook his head.
"I can't stay here with Jenna out there!"
"I'm sorry," she said.
Alaric looked at Damon, desperation in his eyes.
"You can't do this! Damon?"
Damon shook his head.
"Sorry, buddy. She's right."
Then he and Bonnie walked away, leaving a screaming Alaric behind.
Elena watched in horror as the two Originals dragged Stefan to her.
"Look who came to offer himself up as a sacrifice," Klaus said to her with a devilish smirk.
Elena looked at her boyfriend in shock.
"Stefan..."
Klaus pointed his stake between Stefan and the woman in the other circle.
"Well, Who's it going to be, Elena?"
Elena opened her mouth to say something but Klaus interrupted her.
"Oh, don't worry. There's actually no choice."
The he rammed the stake in Stefan's back. Stefan fell on his knees, groaning in pain.
"I have other plans for your boyfriend. I want him alive. But for now..." He snapped Stefan's neck and then looked at Greta.
"Whenever you're ready, Greta."
Greta closed her eyes and continued to chant. The circle around the frightened vampire woman dispersed. Klaus turned toward her.
"Your turn."
The woman tried to flee, using her vampire speed but Elijah blocked her way and grabbed her arms, holding her into place. Klaus strode towards her and drove the stake through her heart. As Greta continued to chant her spell and poured the woman's blood into the bowl, Stefan woke up. A piece of the wood was still in his back, making it unable for him to stand up. He groaned in pain and tried to remove it but couldn't reach it. Then, Klaus approached Elena.
"It's time."
Greta dispelled the ring of fire around her and she got up from the ground. Klaus extended his hand to her but she ignored it and walked toward the altar by herself. Klaus followed her and then grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him.
"Thank you, Elena."
Elena glared at him.
"Go to hell."
Stefan watched in horror as Klaus pulled Elena into his arms and sank his fangs into her neck.
"No..." he whispered, a pained expression on his face.
Klaus continued to drain Elena off her blood. Her eyelids began to flutter and then her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she stopped breathing. Klaus dropped her lifeless body to the ground, blood dripping down from his mouth. Stefan continued staring at Elena's body teary eyed. Klaus walked down the stairs toward Elijah, breathing heavily.
"I can feel it, Elijah. It's happening."
He looked up to the full moon. Suddenly his bones began to crack as the transformation started. His eyes turned yellow like those of a werewolf, but he still had the prominent veins underneath his eyes, indicating his vampire nature.
"Yes, yes!" he cheered.
In the next moment he was thrown through the air. Bonnie was walking down the hillside, chanting her spell. Before Greta could react, Damon sped toward her and snapped her neck. Then he picked Elena up from the floor. Bonnie walked closer, and continued to chant her spell.
"Phasmatos Infero Eseri Gratas, Disasustos Vom, Mas Pro Je Ta Sue Te. Victamas Veras. Phasmatos Tribum, Niha Sue Exilum, Disasustos Vom, Mas Pro Je Ta Sue Te. Levam, Mina Sue Te, Disasustos Vom, Mas Pro Je Ta Sue Te. Phasmatos Veras. Fes Matos Tribum, Mas Pro Tes Unum. Victas Ex Melam, Phasmatos Vanem. Mas Pro Je Ta Sue Te."
Klaus screamed in pain and stared at her in horror.
"No! You were dead!"
Elijah tried to speed toward her but he too was thrown back by the powers of the one hundred witches she possessed. Damon walked toward Stefan and gently placed Elena down on the ground next to him. Stefan gently grabbed her arm.
"Elena."
Damon pulled the rest of the stake out of his brother's back and then helped him up to his feet. Stefan looked at him.
"I need you to get her out of here!"
"What about you?"
"I will stay with Bonnie and won't be leaving until they're dead. Go!"
Damon picked Elena back up and left.
Meanwhile Bonnie continued her spell. Both originals were pressed to a rock, screaming in pain. Somewhere close to them a tree started to fall. The wind howled and thunder rolled. Then suddenly the whole quarry was bathed in light as a glowing figure descended from out of nowhere. The woman positioned herself between Bonnie and the Originals. Stefan stared at her wide-eyed.
"Rose?"
It was Rose, and yet it wasn't. Her hair was slightly longer and her ears pointed. She wore a long flowing white dress, her arms were covered with some kind of shimmering golden tattoo. Ornate lines went up to her collarbone. She didn't look at him. Her eyes were focused on Bonnie who too stared at her in shook but quickly caught herself and continued her spell. Then suddenly other lights appeared, men and women similarly dressed like Rose. They too had pointed ears and intricate, shimmering lines covering their arms. They formed a circle around the quarry, holding each other's hands. A protective bubble of light surrounded the two Originals, absorbing Bonnie's spell. A dark-skinned man joined Rose and looked at Bonnie.
"Stop your spell, witch," he said. "You will die if you keep this up."
Stefan stared at him.
"Who are you and why are you protecting them? They are monsters."
The man glanced at him.
"We are here on behalf of the Elder Tree, of nature itself," he said, ignoring Stefan's questions. He turned toward Bonnie. "You cannot kill them, witch. Hybrids and vampires have a place in this world as much as everyone else. It was nature's will that the curse was broken. Do not fight against it. There are more dangerous creatures out there. The Cursed Ones are determined to sink this world in chaos. Preserve your strength, for when they come you'll need it."
Bonnie finally stopped chanting. She panted heavily, blood dripping down from her nose. Then she suddenly fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Bonnie!" Stefan shouted and rushed to her.
"She'll live," the man said. "She just needs to rest." He turned around to look at the two Originals who observed him and Rose skeptically. Well, Elijah did. Klaus was still in the middle of his transformation.
"Who are you?" Elijah repeated Stefan's question.
"You should go now," the man just said. "Protect the Blessed One and her children until they are ready to face their destiny."
Then he, Rose and the other lights faded out of existence. Elijah grabbed Klaus and sped away.
At the old witch house John was busy writing a letter. Alaric was leaning against the door frame, waiting for the others to come back. The sun was already rising. He sighed.
"We should have heard from them by now."
Jeremy was sitting in the corner of the room, reading one of the Gilbert Journals. He looked over to John.
"Did you read all this?"
He held up the journal. John looked at him.
"I did."
"So you understand what happened to the child's mother after the baby was brought back to life?"
"She saved her daughter," John answered. "She found peace."
Jeremy looked at him with a pained expression.
"John..."
John folded the letter and put it in an envelope. Then he got up and handed the letter to Jeremy.
"I need you to give this to Elena for me. And also this."
He took his ring from his finger and gave it to Jeremy as well. Alaric looked over to them, confusion written on his face.
"Oh, hey, what's going on?"
John looked at him and sighed.
"Take care of each other." His eyes wandered back to Jeremy. "Please."
The door opened upstairs. Alaric stood straight.
"I think they're here!"
He rushed up the stairs and Jeremy followed him after taking one last woeful look at his uncle.
Upstairs, Damon gently placed Elena on the couch.
"If you come back as a vampire, I'll stake you myself. So don't." He affectionately brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Because I can't stand the idea of you hating me forever."
Alaric and Jeremy came bursting into the room and stared at Elena.
"How is she?"
Damon didn't look at them as he stroked Elena's hair.
"I don't know yet," he answered Jeremy's question.
"What about Jenna?" Alaric asked, holding his breath.
Damon turned around to him.
"She wasn't there. Katherine lied."
Jeremy and Alaric blinked at him.
"What? Are you sure?" Jeremy asked.
Damon nodded.
"I saw the vampire he sacrificed for the ritual. It wasn't her."
Alaric sighed in relief.
"Thank god."
Behind them, John came up from the basement and walked out of the front door into the sun. He looked into the house. One moment Elena gasped and shot up from the couch. Everyone turned toward her.
"Elena!" Damon called out, relieved to see her being back from the dead. She looked at him.
"Damon."
"How do you feel?" he asked her, concerned.
"I feel fine."
Both Damon and Jeremy sighed in relief. Outside, John was watching the scene unfold. He closed his eyes, a content look on his face. Then he dropped to the ground, dead.
Later that day Stefan and Damon stood in the hallway of the Gilbert Residence, dressed for John's funeral.
"We all set?" Stefan asked him.
Damon nodded.
"Yeah. Plenty of room with the Gilbert family plot and I compelled one of the grave diggers to do the dirty work. How's she doing?"
He looked up the stairs.
"She and John weren't close but he was still her father. She's in shock."
Upstairs, Elena was getting ready for the funeral when Jeremy knocked on her door.
"I'm almost ready," she said, putting her earrings in.
"Yeah, take your time," he told her.
She looked at her reflection in the mirror and exhaled. Then she turned toward her brother.
"Where is Jenna?"
"She said she'll meet us at the cemetery. She and Marianne went ahead to bury the Martins." He walked over to her, carrying John's letter and ring in his hand. "John wanted me to give you this."
She hesitantly took both and looked at Jeremy who was about to leave the room.
"Jeremy..." He turned around to her. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry that you've lost so many people."
He smiled faintly at her.
"I still have you. And Jenna."
Elena smiled back at him and placed her head on his shoulder. They hugged each other. After a while Jeremy left to go downstairs. Elena opened John's letter.
Elena,
it's no easy task being an ordinary parent to an extraordinary child. I failed in that task. And because of my prejudices, I failed you. I'm haunted by how things might have played out differently. If I'd been more willing to hear your side of things.
For me, it's the end. For you, a chance to grow old and someday do better with your own child than I did with mine. It's for that child that I give you my ring.
I don't ask for your forgiveness or for you to forget. I ask only that you believe this. Whether you are now reading this as a human or as a vampire, I love you all the same as I've always loved you, and always will.
John
After she had read the letter, she sat down on her bed and cried, suddenly regretting all the times she had pushed him away. If only she had known how little time she would have with him.
I knelt down in front of the three graves we had just buried all three Martin witches in. Tears were streaming down my face.
"Dr. Martin, Luka, Greta," I whispered. "I am so incredible sorry. I couldn't save any of you. It makes me feel like the most useless person on this whole planet."
Erin and Estelle knelt down next to me.
"You're not useless, mommy," Estelle said, taking my hand. "You reunited them."
Maddox, who had stood behind us with Andie and Jenna, walked up to us and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"The kid's right. If one of us is useless, it's got to be me. If I didn't get bested by a damn teenager with a rifle I would have been there to help. Then maybe Greta wouldn't be dead now."
There was sadness in his voice. He too mourned for Greta, for the friend he lost. Someone who had become his family.
"Stop it with the blame. Both of you," Andie said. "If someone's to blame then it's Stefan, Damon and the rest of the group. They were the ones who had to interfere and attempt to kill Elijah and Klaus when there had been absolutely no need to. We had an elixir. Elena would have been fine with it. Now the Martins are dead and John's dead too. All because of their actions."
I sighed.
"I know. But I can't help feeling guilty. But let's not talk about such things here at the grave."
I got up from the ground, pulling my twins with me. Jenna walked toward us and pulled me into her arms.
"Hey, Andie's right. Stop blaming yourself. You are no god. You can't save everyone. I'm sure none of the Martins blame you for what happened to them."
I buried my head in the crook of her neck and cried.
"The list of people I've lost gets bigger and bigger. I nearly lost Klaus and Elijah, too. If Rose and the light people didn't show up to save them...I'm so tired of it. Will it ever stop?"
"I don't know," she whispered, pressing me closer.
"If it's any consolation,"Maddox said from behind. "Now that Klaus has broken the curse and turned into a hybrid no one can kill him anymore. No one will get that close ever again."
It was indeed a consolation, knowing that one of my mates was unkillable now.
"Hey," Jenna said after a while, releasing me. "I need to join the others for John's funeral. Do you think you can manage alone for a while?"
I nodded, wiping the tears away.
"Go. Before they come looking for you and see you here with Maddox. I don't need any more drama right now."
Andie walked up to me and placed an arm around my shoulder.
"She won't be alone. The twins, Maddox and I will keep her company."
"Okay."
Jenna took one last look at us before leaving to join John's funeral.
When Maddox, Andie, the twins and I walked back to the cars, we suddenly heard bushes rustling and then a giant dark brown wolf stepped out of the woods toward us. Andie was immediately alert, pushing us behind her back.
"It's the middle of the day and no full moon anymore. How-"
I walked up from behind her and grinned at the wolf who looked at us with watchful, intelligent eyes.
"That's because this is no normal werewolf," I told her. "It's Klaus."
"Oh." She relaxed a bit but was still watching the wolf warily. I walked up to the wolf.
"Hey," I said as I came to a stop right in front of him. The wolf - Klaus - looked calmly up at me. I placed my hand on his giant head and patted him. He leaned into my hand and let out a satisfied growl.
Behind us I could hear Maddox snort.
"I should take a picture of this. No one's going to believe me otherwise that the big bad hybrid turns into a puppy when Marianne's around."
Klaus growled and flashed him a threatening look as if to say 'Don't you dare'.
Maddox held up both of his hands.
"Okay, okay. I got it."
The twins walked up to Klaus and me and looked at him curiously. Erin giggled as Klaus liked over her face and then turned to Estelle to do the same.
"Ookay," I said, looking at them slightly disgusted. "You two will definitely need a bath before you go to bed."
Klaus gave me an amused look before he sightly shoved me and the twins towards the woods with his head.
I looked back at Maddox and Andie.
"I think he wants us to go with him."
Andie shot me a worried look.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? What if-"
"Look at him," Maddox said, trying to reassure his mate. "He practically turned into a puppy in their presence. I think they'll be fine with him. Besides, I'm sure Elijah's somewhere close by." He turned to me and grinned. "Go. We'll tell Jenna in case she's wondering where you are."
I gave him a grateful smile before the twins and I followed Klaus into the woods. We spend the rest of the afternoon there. Klaus was playing tag with the girls and playfully chased them or let himself get chased through the woods, though I noticed that he held back a lot of his strength and was very careful not to hurt them. The twins had the time of their lives. It was nice to see them giggling and screaming and just being little girls for once. When the girls were exhausted from all the running around, he led us to a secluded cave. I sat down on the ground and the girls snuggled up to me and quickly fell asleep. Klaus laid down in front of us, placing his massive head into my lap. I scratched him behind the ears.
"Thank you for today," I whispered. "It was just the type of distraction we needed." I looked at the sleeping girls next to me. "You know, the things they see, the things they know...they carry such a huge burden with them. They rarely just get to be little girls. But they did today. Thanks to you."
He hummed and looked at me understandingly.
After John's funeral, Stefan approached Damon who stood at the side.
"We're going to head back to the house," he told him.
"I think I'll skip the coffee and tea cakes," Damon said.
Stefan looked at his brother.
"Damon, she needs us right now. All of us."
"And then what's the plan, Stefan? The curse is broken. How does one go about killing an all-powerful wolf vamp and his older brother?"
"I have no idea," Stefan admitted.
Damon looked at him.
"We need to get an idea. Fast."
Stefan shook his head.
"I'm not going to let Elena lose anybody else."
Damon grimaced-
"I wouldn't make any promises, brother."
Stefan frowned at him.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Tyler Lockwood bit me."
Damon pulled up his sleeve and showed the werewolf bite to Stefan.
"It's actually more of a nip, really, but there it is."
Stefan grabbed his arm and examined the wound with a worried expression.
"We'll find something. A cure," he said, determination in his voice.
"There's no cure, Stefan."
The Salvatore brothers looked over the graveyard, at Elena and the rest of the group.
"We kept Elena human, right? We found the way when there was no way. Hey," Stefan said and Damon turned to look at him. "I will do this."
Damon gripped his shoulder.
"You want to do something for me? Keep this from Elena. Last thing she needs is another grave to mourn."
Then he walked away, leaving a concerned Stefan behind.
Not gonna lie, John's letter at the end of the episode always makes me cry. On the other hand, I always thought him sacrificing himself for his daughter was a fitting end for his character arc even though it might have been interesting to see how his character would have developed if he stayed around.