'Your dad kept everything from his medical practice--Records, logs, Old appointment books. I found an entry from the night you were born. Patient and a birth date. Isobel Peterson'
Jenna, Elena and I were talking about our adoption and apparently Jenna had found something. She opens our fathers old journal and shows it to Elena and I
'Do you think that's her real name?' I ask
'Pregnant teenage runaway? Probably not. First name, maybe. But where'd she get Peterson? Classmate? Best friend ? So I binged it. I searched for all the Peterson's in this area. Born the same year as Isobel, found 3--2 men and a woman, Trudie. Who lived in grove hill Virginia' Jenna tells us as she types the name into the computer
'That's not far from here' Elena says hopefully while I roll my eyes. Don't get me wrong, it would be great to know where I came from but there's a reason we were adopted, our mother didn't want us, so what was the point of trying to find her.
'Well, watch this' Jenna says before clicking on a photo
'Isobel. She was a cheerleader' I say and Elena just stares at the photo on awe.
'Trudie still lives there. This is her address' Jenna says handing Elena a piece of paper with the address printed on it.
'What about Isobel?' Elena asks
'I couldn't find anything about her. Listen. There's something else. Mr. Saltzman, Rick. His wife was from around here, and her name was also Isobel'
'Wait. "was," as in...'
'She dead.' I finish Elena's sentence
Not long after, Stefan arrived at the house and they went up to Elena's room together. Not long after I headed up to my own room and start packing some spare clothes ready to go on this birth mother journey with my sister.
'What are you doing?'
I turn around to see Lena and Stefan standing in the doorway.
'Packing, assuming we are going on this trip' I reply
'Change of plans, your not' Stefan says and I raise an eyebrow before catching on
'Oh, has this turned into a couple thing. That's fine, I didn't want to go on this trip anyway' I begin to unpack my clothes
'No that's not it, no one's going, it's to dangerous' Elena says, walking into the room with Stefan before he shuts the door.
'Umm guys, what's going on?' I ask them, super confused
'We need you to watch Damon for us' Stefan says and I chuckle
'Damon's a big boy, I don't think he needs me to 'watch him' I laugh but Stefan and Elena don't laugh.
'He's dealing in his own way but we're worried he might..you know..' Elena suggests
'Kill someone' I answer and Stefan nods
'He always manages to keep a level head when your in his eye line so we just want you to go over to my place and just check on him'
'And not leave' I reply. Stefan nods
'So your asking me to babysit a 170 year old heartbroken vampire' I conclude
'Well it's not babysitting'
'It kinda is Lena'
'Please Gigi, he's your friend'
'Fine' I roll my eyes. 'Ill watch your older brother for you Stefan'
'Thank you so much Georgia, I promise I'll go looking for more information about Isobel'
'I can live without knowing' I call out to my sister as she leaves the room but Stefan hangs back. 'Look, I know you didn't want to go so isn't this better' Stefan says and I smile lightly, nodding my head.
'But when you go there I need you to do my favour'
'What?'
'Can you ask Damon about a girl he knew at Duke in North Carolina with the name Isobel?' Stefan asks
'Did Damon know my birth mother?' I question and Stefan shrugs.
'I don't know but it is a possibility it didn't exactly end well'
'But why are you making me do this Stefan? Damon and I are friends I guess but why would he tell me that information'
'Because Damon trusts you, you mean more to him then you think'
'What are you talking about Stefan, Damon never does what I tell him to do, he just washes over it and after what happened last night, I don't think his humanity exists right now' I tell Stefan but he shakes his head.
'Your underestimating yourself, Damon's humanity is you. Your the key Georgia, I know you don't realise it but your everything to him' Stefan says before looking back at the door.
'I'll see you later' he says before heading out the door leaving me super confused. What was Stefan talking about this key to humanity business, as if Damon was going to listen me when I went to the Boarding House.
At the Salvatore Boarding House
I open the door to the boarding house and straight away I can hear music coming from the main room to my right. I head up the stairs and as I'm about to enter the room I hear a girls voice.
'How do I taste?'
I feel my stomach squirm as I realise Damon was drinking from a girl but I step into the room. There were a bunch of girls in the room dancing with each other. The had bite marks all over their bodies and looked drunk as they walked around but they were clearly dazed from the lack of blood they had in their system.
'Oh, so much better than your friends. But shh. Don't tell them. They might get jealous' Damon replies. He's got a girl in a loose headlock and sensing me he groans.
'No. Buzzkill bob' Damon groans before looking up but when he see's me he raises his eyebrows
'Never-mind, it's the Little Princess. Greetings'
'Can we talk Damon?' I ask damon, wanting to get Stefan's request out of the way
'Yeah.' Damon says turning his attention to me but still dancing with the girls
'Without the tridelts' I say from the stairs
'Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of them. They're really good at keeping secrets' Damon says and I shake my head motioning for Damon to come towards me. After a moment though Damon breaks and comes towards me.
'Stefan and I are worried about you' I tell him
'You're worried about me. That's nice. Don't be. There's no need. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?Spent the last 145 years with one goal, get in that tomb. I succeeded. Granted, Katherine wasn't in there to be rescued, but why dwell? No, it's so liberating not having a master plan because I can do whatever the hell I want' Damon rants
'That's kind of what Stefan's afraid of' I say
'Well you can tell Buzzkill Bob to relax. I haven't killed anyone in-- too long' Damon says and I motion to the girls
'Then those girls?'
'Will end up in their dorm with headaches. Think they blacked out. Business as usual. Now why don't you tell me what Stefan wanted you to do when you got it. Spill it, Georgia' Damon says
'Stefan says there was a woman you may have known a few years back named Isobel in North Carolina at Duke'
'Stefan wants me to discuss a women in my past right now? Seriously?'
'Did you kill her?'
'Who wants to know' Damon asks
'I just wanna know if you remember anything about her'
'Oh, it's like a needle in a haystack to me Georgia'
'Well, think hard. It's important' I snap but Damon just sighs
'Nothing is important, not anymore. Great chat. I have to go and exploit some women in the name of grief. Which I'm sure Stefan understand' Damon says sadly and I can tell he really was heartbroken over this. He then walks away from me back to the girls and I knew he needed to deal with this a different way.
'Damon-'
'Yeah'
'I have no where else to be, why don't you return their girls to their dormitory and I'll keep you company' I propose, hoping that Damon would agree. At first he doesn't seem to want to leave the girls behind.
'Why don't you join us instead, it feels amazing' one of the girls replies and I roll my eyes. It most definitely does NOT feel amazing.
'I'd rather not' I reply and the girls just shrug before continuing to dance around the room.
'Damon-' I give the vampire a look and he groans before motioning to the girls.
'Come on girls follow me' he says and the girls happily follow after him. They all walk past me and head up the stairs. A few minutes later the girls all come back down dressed and head straight for the door. They walk out without a word and Damon appears at the bottom of the stairs moments later.
'Did you just send them out without any-'
'Relax Georgia, I fed them my blood and compelled them to travel back to their dorms, fall asleep on their bed and when they woke up they would forget everything that just happened' Damon tells me walking back into the lounge room.
'Good' I say before walking over to the couch and picking up all the empty bourbon bottles.
'What are you doing?' Damon asks
'Cleaning up, it's pretty gross in here' I say, motioning to the blood stains on the blanket and the empty bottles.
'I---ll help' Damon slurs and I look up to see him very much intoxicated from the drinks he had. He stumbles towards me.
'No Damon, I think you should sleep it off'
'NOooooo Geora, let mee have my fuun' Damon groans coming towards me. Damon grabs my shoulder and rests his head on it and it's fine for a second before it seems like he fell asleep because he suddenly becomes super heavy.
'Damon' I groan as I try to push his weight off me and onto the couch but as he was a super strong vampire, I fail and both Damon and I fall onto the ground with the vampire on top of me. I felt like my lungs were going to explode from the amount of weight I was feeling.
'Come on Damon' I groan before using all my weight to push the vampire off me and onto the floor. I sat up and looked down at him and sure enough he was asleep.
'He's so cute when he asleep' I find my head saying
'Wait no, what the hell!' I say aloud shaking my head trying to get that thought out of my head. Sure Damon and I were....friends I think but I didn't think of him like that. Why did my brain make that connection. It was completely out of the blue.
Ignoring my thoughts I reach down and grab Damon's arms before wrapping them around me. I then begin to drag him to the best of my ability towards the couch. I then, one body part at a time, got him on the couch so I could continues cleaning.
Time Skip
Damon's POV
I groan, opening my eyes to see that I was somehow lying on the couch. The thing I remembered was leaning on Georgia's shoulder. Did I fall asleep on her? Did she put me here? I turn my head slowly to see that the room had been cleared of my, previous enjoyments. The blankets that had blood on them were gone and it looked like I hadn't just had a bunch of girls over. I then hear a noise and turn to see Georgia walking back into the room.
'Oh your awake, how was your recovery nap' she jokes and I slowly sit up.
'Still feel like shit, what did you do?'
'I cleaned up the room and threw your blankets in the wash, the best way to get over a struggle is in a clean room, not a messy one'
I jump off the couch and walk towards the bar table but Georgia steps in front of me, blocking my path.
'You can't drink away your troubles Damon, believe me I've tried'
'Well then your not drinking hard enough' I reply but she doesn't move.
'I'm sorry about Katherine Damon, I know she meant a lot to you but this isn't the way to be dealing with it'
'And what, are you some sort of expert in this area, sorry Miss Gilbert but I think more accustomed to loosing people then you so just let me deal with it' I say, vamp speeding around the girl so I could get to my drinks.
'Alright Damon, maybe I have lost less people then you have but I can still understand what your going through' Georgia says but I just roll my eyes.
'Please, Katherine was my one shot at happiness Georgia and she got ripped away from me and you know what the funny thing is, she never loved me!' I snap taking Georgia by surprise
Georgia's POV
When Damon snaps at me I physically take a step back as I wonder what Damon meant. After everything that I knew about him, he said he loved Katherine and I just assumed that it was returned by her.
'What are you talking about Damon?' I ask confused
'She escaped the tomb, she made a deal with one of the guards to save her. According to Anna and Rose, she knew where I was about 30 years ago and she chose to not find me. I wasted 145 looking for her to only find out she never wanted me, how pathetic is that!' Damon rants and I move my head from side to side as I sort of agree, it was a little but pathetic.
'I get it Damon but she was the one who played you and Stefan. She was the one who toyed with your heart. She is the one you should be blaming. I would give anything to have someone who never gave up on me for 145 years' I tell Damon, hoping that would comfort him.
'But here's the thing Salvatore, you're being WAY too whiny here. Katherine isn't worth it, so why are you here drowning your sorrows in bourbon and blood feeling like a complete idiot. You honestly need to get over this. Go out to the Mystic Grill or something, just GET THE HELL OVER IT' I slightly scold Damon, hoping it would get him to stop moaning. I wasn't a fan of this side of Damon and I knew he needed to get out of this house. Damon pauses as it seems like he is considering it. He then makes eye contact with me and slowly nods his head
'Alright Miss Gilbert, you've convinced me. Let's go to your Grill' Damon finally decides and I'm quite surprised that he agreed in the end.
We arrive at the Mystic Grill and I plan to find us a booth but Damon notices Alaric sitting at the bar, looking pretty depressed.
'Let's go talk to your history teacher' Damon says grabbing my arm and walking towards him.
'Damon-' I try to stop me but he pulls me to sit next to Alaric while he sits on the other side.
'Bourbon and a Coke for her' Damon says to the bartender who gets a quick drink for both of us.
'Behold the teacher' Damon says as he grabs his drink off the table.
'Don't you have homework to do' Rick says as he notices me sitting on his right.
'I finished' I reply simply, taking a sip from my drink
'Don't you have papers to grade?' Damon asks
'It's, uh, more fun with a buzz' Rick replies
'Well, most things in life are. Sober's depressing' Damon groans and I roll my eyes. We came here so Damon wouldn't act so depressed.
'You don't strike me as somebody who gets depressed' Rick says
'You say that like you know him' I say and he turns to look at me
'Nope. Just a hunch' he tells me before turning to find Damon looking at him.
'You have a good afternoon, Damon. Georgia' he says downing the rest of his drink and standing up and leaving the bar.
'Not likely.' Damon mutters and I sigh before scooting over a chair. I grab Damon's bourbon and put it near me only to have a voice interrupt me
'Daytime drinking, huh? Aren't you underage Georgia' Liz Forbes voice surprises me and I turn to see her leaning against the table and I shake my head.
'It's all the rage' Damon says, not helping my case at all
'It's Damon's drink' I defend myself handing Damon his drink back
'Listen Damon, I need a favor' Liz says turning her attention back to Damon before looking down at me.
'Excuse me Georgia, can I talk to Damon for a second' Liz says and I nod.
'Yeah sure' I say before standing up from my seat and heading over to the bathroom while I let them talk
Third Person POV
'You ever been in love?' Damon asks the moment Georgia is out of earshot
'Excuse me?' Liz asks
'Have you ever been so bent on someone, that you just have your heart ripped out by them?'
'You forget I was married' Liz replies bluntly
'Right. Gay husband' Damon says before motioning to the bartender
'She'll have what I'm having. Sit down' he tells Liz and she reluctantly sits down
'There's a fundraiser here tonight that the founder's council is throwing. The town's most eligible bachelors get raffled off for dates, and, well, we're short a bachelor' Liz tells Damon
'Is this what you do when there's no, um...Vampires? Organize bachelor raffles?' he jokes
'Oh, trust me. At this point, I miss the vampires. Look, you're a hero to this town, Damon. I know most people don't know it, but you are, and you're single and a catch. Oh, come on. Help me out. Carol lockwood won't let me live it down if I come up empty-handed' Liz pleads with Damon and he begins to think it over before turning around and catching Georgia's eyes across the room. He thinks about what she said about how he needs to get over Katherine.
'You know, a room full of women clamoring to win a date with me. Sounds tasty' Damon agrees
'Thank you' Liz says standing up from her spot but Damon stops her
'One thing.Can you get information on someone for me? Alaric Saltzman, the history teacher. There's just something a little off about him, and I just-- I just wanna make sure that the high school did their homework on this guy' he says and Liz nods
'You got it'
'Thanks'
At the Salvatores'
'So your going to be a contestant at the auction' I conclude from Damon's information about his conversation with Liz. I sit on the bed as he goes through his draws looking for something flattering.
'Stefan' my sister's voice echos through the house and she enters the bedroom.
'Oh Georgia, is Stefan here?' she asks
'Better. Me' Damon replies emerging from the closet.
'You look, um...' Elena stutters not being able to drawn her eyes away from Damon. Seriously, she has a boyfriend.
'Dashing? Gorgeous? Irresistible?' Damon flirts
'Wrecked. You look wrecked' I answer from the bed for my sister
'Do you know Elena, that I am one of mystic falls' most eligible bachelors?'
'How are you doing?' Elena questions Damon who just shrugs
'Never better. Yep. What can I do for you? I'm a barrel of favors today. It's my newfound purpose-how can I help people?' Damon says going on and I roll my eyes at him.
'I'm just meeting Stefan. We're going to the fundraiser' Elena says as Damon struggles to do up his buttons
'Help a guy out, will you Georgia? Can't get this' he calls out to me and I push myself up off the bed to help him. As I help him Elena begins to talk behind me.
'So we found out who our birth mother is' Elena says
'Ecch. Who cares? She left you. She sucks' Damon says as I do the last button. When I turn around I see Stefan standing in the doorway
'Stefan. There you are' Elena says cheerfully
'Uhh' Damon groans taking our attention back to him as he tries to get his leather jacket on his shoudlers
'I need a bigger jacket. Wow. You know, an occasional sorority girl might, um, you know, help fill you out a little bit' Damon teases his brother before walking past the couple, leaving the bedroom. Elena and Stefan turn around and give me a look
'He's fine' I reply casually
'He's damon' Stefan says
'Maybe this heartache will be good for him. It'll remind him that he has one, even if it doesn't beat' Elena snaps
'He's not going to kill anyone, we already talked about it' I add
'Won't hold my breath' Stefan replies
'So I went to see Trudie Peterson' Elena says and I roll my eyes
'I know I said I wouldn't but it was very spur of the moment' she quickly defends herself when she see's the disappointed look on Stefan's face
'How was it?' I ask reluctantly
'She has vervain. She knows about vampire stuff, it can't be a coincidence' Elena tells us and Stefan sighs
'It isn't' he says before taking something out of his pocket.
'This is Alaric's wife' he says handing Elena and I a photo
'This is her. This is Isobel' Elena gasps
'He gave this to you?' I ask Stefan
'Everything he knows about vampires, he learned from her. He believes that she was killed by one' he says reluctantly
'Oh, my god' Elena and I gasp
'Listen, girls, there's a lot about Isobel that Alaric can tell you, but I need you to hold off a little while before you talk to him. Especially you Elena' Stefan tells us.
'Gladly' I reply
'Why?' Elena asks, not wanting to avoid the chase on our birth mother
'I know that it's a lot to ask of you. But will you do that for me?' Stefan asks Elena, basically staring into her soul and Elena looks at me for a moment before nodding her head in agreement.
At the auction
Stefan stayed back at the house to talk to Damon while Elena and I headed to the auction. We found Jenna sitting at a nearby table. Elena catches Matt and Caroline selling tickets and she heads over there while I sit down by Jenna
'Hey Georgia'
'Hi Jenna' I greet my aunt as I sit down next to her
'Did you put your name in?' I ask her and she nods
'Hoping you'll get Rick' I add in a whisper and she shakes her head before giving me a cringy smile.
'Why don't you just sit here and be quiet Georgia, I would be happy if I got any of them'
'But you would be overjoyed if you got Rick' I laugh and she shakes her head, deciding to not talk to me.
'And what do you do, bachelor number 3?'
'Yeah, I'm a plumber'
The auction was in full swing and I was scanning the room seeing which bachelor was the most popular among the crowd.
'Well, isn't that wonderful? We could always use more plumbers. Moving on. Number 4, "Alaric Saltzman. Wow. That's quite a mouthful. What do you do, Alaric?'
So far no one seemed overly interested in the first three but when Carol Lockwood moves on to Alaric it looks like the whole room woke up from their nap, including Jenna.
'I'm a teacher at mystic falls high' Alaric responds super professional-like, clearly not caring greatly
'Oh, beauty and brains, ladies. This one's a keeper. What do you teach?'
'History.' he replies plainly but I catch him looking towards our table. I look to my right and I see Jenna staring at him with a smile on her face and I roll my eyes as I realise that they were looking at each other.
'History. Oh, well, give us a fun fact about mystic falls, something crazy' Carol asks and it seems Alaric freezes and doesn't know what to say
'He's probably saving the best stories for his date. And last, but not least, Damon Salvatore. We don't have much on you' Carol moves on to Damon who just looks as confident and cocky as usual.
'Well, I'm tough to fit on a card'
'Do you have any hobbies, like to travel?'
'Oh, yeah. L.A., new york. Couple of years ago, I was in north Carolina, near the duke campus, actually. I think--I think Alaric went to school there. Didn't you, rick? Yeah, 'cause I-- I know your wife did. I had a drink with her once. She was--she was a great girl. I ever tell you that? 'cause she was--Delicious'
I feel my heart drop as I put two and two together. Damon killed my mother, my birth mother. I wasn't so keen on us meeting our mother but I much preferred thinking that she purposely avoided us, just lived her life without us. What if she actually wanted to find us but then Damon killed her before she got the chance? It was giving me a headache.
'Are you ok?' Jenna brings me out of my thoughts and I turn to see her resting her hand on my arm.
'I just....need some air' I gasp before standing up from the chair and heading for the door. On the way I catch Elena's eyes. Elena motions to the door and we both walk that way. She looked just as destroyed as me, if not more. We get outside and Elena pulled me into a hug.
'She's dead. Our mother's dead and Damon killed her' she cries and I feel tears build up in my eyes.
'Elena. Georgia' Stefan appears behind her and I let go of my sister
'He killed her? Damon was the vampire that killed her?' Elena demands answers from Stefan and I don't blame her.
'I don't know what happened. Alaric said that they never found the body' Stefan says and I gasp
'Oh, my god'
'I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you, but I just-- I wanted to know more'
'You know I was feeling sorry for him, hoping that this whole Katherine thing would change him. I'm so stupid' Elena says
'He lied to me' I mutter and Stefan sighs
'He doesn't know about the connection to you. I thought about confronting him, but he's already so on edge'
'Why are you protecting him?' Elena asks suddenly going from sad to angry
'Because you're not the only one hoping that he might actually change' I say suddenly causing the couple to turn to look at me. I truly wanted Damon to change as well. He just needed to find a balance. Elena sighs and turns around but she freezes as her eyes lad on something behind me.
'What?' I ask my sister turning around to see what she was looking at. I see she's looking at a man who was very obviously looking at us.
'That man. I saw that man outside of Trudie's' Elena says
'Get back inside. Come on' Stefan says putting his hands on Elena and I's backs leading us back towards the door. We head into the door. I'm basically rushing but I collide into someone's body as I round the corner.
'Whoa. Easy there. Buy a ticket like everyone else' Damon's familiar voice jokes and I when I look back at him I couldn't help the words that left my mouth
'Did you enjoy that/ Rubbing it in to Alaric Saltzman?' I snap and Damon looks at me confused
'What?'
'Just as I was starting to think that there was something redeemable about you'
'Georgia-' Stefan puts his hand on my shoulder but I brush it off
'Am I missing something here?' Damon asks
'Remember when I asked you about a girl named Isobel that you knew at Duke, that you pretended not to remember. Did I forget to mention earlier that was my mother. The one that gave me up? Her name was Isobel. Go ahead. Reminisce about how you killed her' I rant turning around and marching back outside. I get outside and run my fingers through my hair as I feel my body heating up in frustration. I could feel surges of energy rushing through me but I couldn't understand why.
'Georgia-'
Elena's voice suddenly seems to draw my attention away from my head as I feel my body physically relax.
'Come on. Let's get you both home' Stefan suggests but I shake my head
'I have a message for you'
We all turn around to see the man that was watching us before in front of us.
'What?'
'Who are you?' Stefan and I ask
'Stop looking'
'Stop looking for what?' Elena asks
'She doesn't want to know you. Either of you. She doesn't want to talk to you'
'Isobel?' I ask
'You both need to stop looking. Do you understand?'
'She's alive? Does that mean she's a--'
'She's a vampire' I conclude
'Elena, he's under a compulsion' Stefan realises
'Do you understand?' the man asks
'Yes. We do' I answer for my sister
'Good. I'm done now' the man says before taking a step back onto the round before suddenly being hit and trampled by the oncoming truck. I gasp, my hand going to my mouth as Elena screams.
That Night
I finish brushing my teeth in the bathroom. My mind was swimming with thoughts of everything that I just witnessed. How I couldn't believe the connection between us and the Salvatore's, first Katherine and now Isobel and even Alaric. It was all just super confusing. I open the door and walk across to my room but out of the corner of my eye I catch Elena looking at something in her bedroom.
'Elena?' I ask, stopping at her door. She looks up at me and I see that she's holding a phone.
'What is that?' I ask her
'It's the man's phone, his most recent call is with this number' she says and I sigh
'Elena, our birth mother is a vampire, she compelled that man to tell us to stay away from her and then told him to kill himself, isn't that enough of an indication that we need to leave her alone' I warn my sister but she just stares at the phone screen.
'But she's our mother Georgia, I want answers, don't you as well' Elena says and I shake my head but after the events of today I actually do want to know.
'Maybe if...'
'Too late I'm calling it' she doesn't want for me. Elena hits the call button and puts the phone to her ear. I lean towards my sister so I can hear the sound of the phone ringing. After a moment it picks up
'Was there a problem? Did you find them? What's going on?' a female's voice rings through the phone. Elena and I can barely get any words out. That's our mother's voice and we were obviously almost starstruck.
'Isobel?' Elena just manages to gasp but Isobel doesn't reply, instead the line goes completely dead.
'Why doesn't she want to talk to us?' Elena asks
A/N
I've been waiting for this episode for a while. Introduction of Isobel is going to start a lot of original plot lines and I can't wait.
Happy New Year everyone, hope 2024 treats you well
<3