Salvatore Boarding House
[In his room, Stefan is holding the picture of Katherine and the necklace. He tries to call Elena, but with no answer, leaves her another voicemail.)
Stefan: Elena. It's Stefan. I know that this picture must have confused you. But I can explain. I need to explain. So, please, when you get this, call me.
Mystic Falls
[Elena is driving her car and sees a man in the middle of the road. She slams on her brakes but hits the man. Her car rolls over and over. She is stuck in her seat. The man somehow recovers and starts walking towards her car. Elena screams. The man runs away. A second later, Damon appears.]
Elena: Ah!
Damon: How ya doing in there?
Elena: Damon?
Damon: You look stuck.
Elena: It's my seat belt. I can't get it.
Damon: Shh Shh Shh. Let me get you out of there. I want you to put your hands on the roof. Just like that. You ready? 1, 2, 3.
[Damon ejects her seat belt.] I got you. [Damon picks up Elena.]
Are you okay? Can you stand? Is anything broken?
Elena: Uh-uh.
[Damon puts Elena down but she can barely stand. Damon catches her before she falls to the ground.]
Damon: Whoa, you're fading fast, Elena. Elena, look at me. [Damon grabs her face.] Focus. Look at me. Okay.
Elena: I look like her...
Damon: What?
[Elena faints. Damon grabs her and slowly puts her on the ground. He brushes her face with his hand.]
Damon: Upsy-daisy.
[Damon picks her up and carries her away.]
Alaric's Apartment
Alaric (typing on his computer): I found one. After years of research and study, there it was right in front of me. I was terrified. As I stared it in the eyes, I drove a stake through its heart. I was right about Mystic Falls. There is evil here. I can sense it. Feel it. It's everywhere.
[Alaric looks at a photo of a young woman.]
Flashback
[Alaric kisses Isobel on the forehead. She wakes up.]
Isobel: [Sleepily] Ohhh. It's not even seven yet.
Alaric: Which means you shouldn't be awake for at least six hours.
Isobel: [Smiles] I hate morning people.
Alaric: I'm going to be home late.
Isobel: I love you.
Alaric: I love you too.
Somewhere In Georgia
[In Damon's car. Elena wakes up.]
Damon: Morning.
Elena: Where are we?
Damon: Georgia.
Elena: Georgia? No, no. No, we're not. Seriously, Damon. Where are we?
Damon: Seriously, we're...we're in Georgia. How ya feeling?
Elena: I...I...
Damon: There's no broken bones. I checked.
Elena: But my car...there was a man...I hit a man. But then he got up, and...who was that?
Damon: That's what I would like to know.
Elena: Where is my phone? OK. We really need to go back. Nobody knows where I am. Pull over. I mean it, Damon. Pull over! Stop the car!
Damon: Oh you were so much more fun when you were asleep.
[Damon pulls over. Elena gets out of the car, she limps weakly and Damon rushes over to her to help her.]
Damon: [crouching down by her for support] Hey.
Elena: [looking at Damon strangely] I'm fine. We have to go back.
Damon: Oh come on. Look. We've already come this far...
Elena: Why are you doing this? I can't be in Georgia. I wrecked my car. I have to go home. This is kidnapping.
Damon: That's a little melodramatic, don't you think?
Elena: You're not funny. You can't do this. I'm not going to Georgia.
Damon: Well, you're IN Georgia. Without your magical little necklace, I might add. I can very easily make you...agreeable.
Elena: What are you trying to prove?
[Elena's cell phone rings.]
Elena: That's my phone.
Damon: Mmm. It's your boyfriend. I'll take it. [He speaks into the phone.] Elena's phone...!
Stefan: Where is she? Why do you have her phone? Is she okay?
Damon: Elena? She's right here. And, yes, she's fine.
Stefan: Where are you? Let me speak to her.
Damon: He wants to talk to you.
Elena: [Shaking her head] Uh-uh.
Damon: Yeah. I don't...I don't really think she wants to talk to you right now.
Stefan: Damon, I swear to God, if you touch her...
Damon: [smirks] You have a good day. Mm-hmm. Bye-now.
Stefan: Argh!
Elena (to Damon): Look, no one knows where I am. Can we please just go back?
Damon: We're almost there.
Elena: Where is there?!
Damon: A little place right outside of Atlanta. Oh, come on, Elena. You don't wanna go back right now. Do you? What's the rush? Time-out. Trust me. Your problems are still going to be there when you get home. Look. Step away from your life for five minutes. Five minutes!
Elena: Am I gonna be safe with you?
Damon: Yes.
Elena: You promise not to do that mind control thing with me?
Damon: Yes.
Elena: Can I trust you?
Damon: Get in the car. Come on.
Mystic Falls High School
[Alaric is at his car in the parking lot, searching for something in the seats. Jeremy sees him.]
Jeremy: Hey, Mr. Saltzman!
Alaric: Hey, Jeremy. I, uh...can't find my ring. I took it off for the gym, and thought I put it...there it is! Losing family heirlooms...bad. How's your extra credit coming? You pick a topic yet?
Jeremy: Mystic Falls, the Civil War era.
Alaric: What's the angle?
Jeremy: My family. I found a journal of an ancestor who lived in the 1800s. And the Gilberts were one of the original Founding Families of Mystic Falls. So...
Alaric: That sounds good.
[Stefan sees Bonnie and goes over to her.]
Stefan: Bonnie.
Bonnie: Stefan...
Stefan: Hey.
Bonnie: Hi.
Stefan: I haven't seen you lately. How are you doing with everything?
Bonnie: I'm fine. It's all fine.
Stefan: Good. Yeah
Bonnie: Are you back in school?
Stefan: No. Actually I came here to find you. I was hoping you could help me with something. A spell.
Bonnie: Stefan, look, I know Elena's okay with all of this, and I appreciate what you did to help me. But I'm not really ready to dive into it with you just yet.
Stefan: I understand that. But I need your help. It's Elena. She's with Damon. I have Elena's necklace. I was just hoping you could use this to make some sort of a connection. I just need to know that she's okay.
Bonnie: How do you know I can do this?
Stefan: Because I've known a few witches over the years. I've seen what they can do.
Bonnie: I'm still new at it.
Stefan: It's okay. Give it a shot.
Bonnie: Okay. All right.
[Bonnie takes the necklace and closes her eyes trying to make something happen.]
Bonnie: There's nothing. Nothing's happening. Usually there's an image or...tell me if anyone's looking.
Stefan: Okay.
[Bonnie picks up a leaf and tries to make it float. It doesn't work.]
Stefan: What is it?
Bonnie: Something's wrong.
Stefan: With Elena?
Bonnie: With me. There's something wrong with me. [grabs her things] I have to go. I'm sorry, Stefan. I can't help you.
[Bonnie walks away quickly, while Stefan watches her.]
Georgia
[In Damon's car.]
Elena: So, where's my car?
Damon: I pulled it off to the side of the road. I don't think anyone will bother it.
Elena: What about that man in the road? Was he a...?
Damon: From what I could tell, yeah...
Elena: You didn't know him?
Damon: If I've never met him, I wouldn't know him. I mean, it's not like we all hang out together at the Vamp Bar & Grill.
Bree's Bar
[Damon pulls up in front of a bar named "Bree's Bar".]
Elena: Where are we? You brought me to a bar? Damon, I'm not old enough. They're not going to let me in.
Damon: Sure they will.
[They get out of the car and enter the bar.]
Bree: No. No, it can't be. Damon. My honey pie.
[Bree grabs Damon's face and kisses him.]
Bree: [shouting] Listen up everybody! Here's to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness!
[Bree pours shots for everyone.]
Drink up! [Damon and Bree shoot their alcohol.] Ahh. Whoo!
[to Elena] So, how'd he rope you in? [She pours Elena a shot.]
Elena: I'm not roped in. Actually, I'm dating his...
Bree: Honey, if you're not roped, you're whipped. Either way, just enjoy the ride. [smiles and pours more alcohol.]
Elena: Okay. So, how did you two meet?
Bree: College.
Elena (to Damon): You went to college?
Damon: [smiling] I've been on a college campus, yes.
Bree: About twenty years ago, when I was a sweet, young freshman, I met this beautiful man, and I fell in love. And then he told me about his little secret, made me love him more. Because, you see, I had a little secret of my own that I was dying to share with somebody.
Damon (whispering to Elena): She's a witch.
Bree: Changed my world, you know.
Damon: [smirking] I rocked your world.
Bree: He is good in the sack, isn't he? But mostly he's just a Walk-Away Joe. [to Damon]
So, what is it that you want?
Mystic Falls Library
[Jeremy is at the library, looking for a book. Suddenly, some books fall down in front of him. A girl appears from the other side of the bookshelf.]
Anna: Oh my god. I am so sorry. There was this one book wedged between the other, and so I pulled and then kaplunk, kaboom. [gesturing with her hands] Are you ok?
Jeremy: Yeah, I'm fine.
[They both kneel down to pick up the books at the same time and knock into each other's heads.]
Anna: [grabs her head] Ahh! I'm Anna.
Jeremy: [rubs his own head and laughs] I'm Jeremy.
Gram's Residence
[Bonnie is looking through old spellbooks, when her Grams enters.]
Bonnie: Thank God you're back.
Grams: And hello to you, too. What's the matter?
Bonnie: My powers are gone, Grams. I can't do anything, even when I concentrate. And there's nothing in in any of these books that can tell me how to get them back.
Grams: Hang on, now. Just calm down. Tell me what happened.
Bonnie: I can't.
Grams: We keeping secrets now?
Bonnie: I have to. I'm sorry. I promised. Please, help me.
Grams: Well, first of all, there's nothing in any of these that's gonna help you. If you're blocked, it's in here. [points to Bonnie's head]
You gotta clear it out, then you're back in business.
Bonnie: Clear what out?
Grams: Whatever's got you so scared.
Bree's Bar
[Elena is out by Damon's car. She calls Jenna.]
Elena: Hi, Jenna. I'm so sorry.
Jenna: Where are you? Why didn't you call?
Elena: I was so tired last night. I fell asleep at Bonnie's. And then this morning, I just wanted to get to school.
Jenna: Are you okay?
Elena: You know, Stefan and stuff.
[Inside the bar.]
Damon: [to Bree] Come on, there's gotta be another way.
Bree: After all these years, it's still only Katherine. How do you even know she's still alive
Damon: Well, you help me get into that tomb, and we'll find out.
Bree: I already did. Twenty years ago. Remember? Three easy steps: Comet. Crystal. Spell.
Damon: There's a little problem with number two. I don't have the crystal.
Bree: That's it, Damon. There is no other way. It's Emily's spell.
Damon: What about a new spell with a new crystal that overrides Emily's spell?
Bree: It doesn't work that way, baby. Emily's spell is absolute. You can't get into that tomb.
Fell's Church Ruins
[Bonnie is at the old Fell's Church, where Emily destroyed the crystal and Damon attacked Bonnie.]
Bonnie: [hears a noise] Hello? Anybody here?! Aah!
[The ground below her feet gives away and Bonnie falls into a hole.]
Bree's Bar
[Elena is still outside. Her phone rings. She answers it.]
Stefan: Elena, is that you?
Elena: I'm here.
Stefan: Where are you?
Elena: You lied.
Stefan: Not until I explain, please.
Elena: So, you didn't lie?
Stefan: Just tell me where you are, so that I can come get you.
Elena: How am I connected to Katherine, Stefan?
Stefan: I honestly don't know.
Elena: And I'm supposed to believe that?
Stefan: It's the truth. I-- Listen...
[Elena hangs up on him. She turns around; Damon is behind her.]
Damon: You okay?
Elena: Don't pretend to care. I know you're gloating inside.
[Inside, Bree calls somebody on the phone; she turns on a blender so she's not overheard.]
Bree: Hey, it's Bree. You'll never gonna guess who walked into my bar.
Fell's Church Ruins
[Bonnie wakes up just outside the tomb, and searches for a way out.]
Bonnie: Ow. Hello?! Anybody?! Ahh!
[She sees a pentagram inside a circle engraved on the wall.]
Gram's Residence
[Stefan walks up to the porch and knocks on the door, Grams answers.]
Stefan: Hi.
Grams: Can I help you?
Stefan: I'm Stefan.
[Stefan extends his hand to Grams. She shakes it.] I'm a friend of Bonnie's. Her dad told me that she might be here.
Grams: She was. Not anymore.
Stefan: Do you know where she went?
Grams: No. But you do.
Stefan: I'm sorry?
Grams: I told her to face down her fear. And I'm sensing now that you know exactly why she was scared. You know what I am. And yet you offered me your hand, which means you wanted me to see that I can trust you.
Stefan: Can you?
Grams: I trust you'll keep her safe. You'd better be on your way, then. I'm not going to invite you in. I'm sure you understand why.
Mystic Falls Library
Anna: [gestures to an aisle of bookshelves] This aisle is local and state history. And Civil War is one over. What do you need?
Jeremy: Local. 1860s. Do you work here?
Anna: Nope. You want reference. This way. Um, home-schooled. I study here for a "mock-school environment." Ah, here we go. Original settlers, town archives, Founders' stuff. It's all here. So, what's your topic?
Jeremy: The town's fear and hysteria surrounding the war and how it influenced certain writers of the time.
Anna: You might want to focus that.
Jeremy: The origin of local folklore and myths.
Anna: [smiling] You mean, the vampires?
Bree's Bar
[Elena and Damon are eating.]
Elena: Let's just say that I'm descended from Katherine...does that make me part vampire?
Damon: Vampires can't procreate. [eats a fry] But we love to try. [smirks] No, if you were related, it would mean Katherine had a child before she was turned.
Elena: Did Stefan think that he could use me to replace her?
Damon: Kinda creepy if you ask me. [beat] Come on, what? You don't like pickles? What's wrong with you?
Elena: How can you even eat? If technically you're supposed to be...
Damon: [whispers] Dead? [laughs] It's not such a bad word. As long as I keep a healthy diet of blood in my system, my body functions pretty normally.
Elena: [beat] This nice act. Is any of it real?
[Bree interrupts them.]
Bree: Here you go. [hands Damon a beer.]
Damon: Thank you.
Elena: I'll have one too.
Damon: [surprised] Hmm?
Elena: Time out, remember? For five minutes? Yeah, well that five minutes is going to need a beer.
Bree: [smiles] There you go. [Bree gives Elena a beer.]
Mystic Falls Library
Jeremy: You're kidding me, right? There's no such thing as vampires.
Anna: Well, there's not a lot of documentation, but the stories have been told since the Civil War. My granddad used to tell me all these creepy stories when I was little. And he said that his granddad told them to him.
Jeremy: Yeah, that would be folklore. Vampires are a metaphor for the demons of the day!
Anna: Which are?
Jeremy: The union soldiers! I've read the stories myself. They talk about the enemy, the demons that attack at night.
Anna: That sounds like vampires to me.
Jeremy: Allegorical vampires. Which is what it is. Creative expression during a very volatile time. I mean, a country at war doesn't want realism. They want fantasy. Thus, vampire fiction.
Anna: Man, you're smart. I gotta give it to you; when I first saw you, I missed it.
Jeremy: Yeah. I've had a rough go of it lately, but I'm just now getting back to my old self.
Anna: Well, good luck on your paper. I gotta get home. [beat] You know, my great grandfather actually showed me a journal once of an ancestor, and he had written all of this creepy stuff about vampires. It was actually really believable.
Jeremy: Wait. A journal?
Anna: Yeah? Why?
Jeremy: Are you sure you have to go?
Fell's Church Ruins
[Bonnie tries to receive a signal.]
Bonnie: Come on, phone! Great! Great.
[Bonnie slowly moves closer to the door with the pentagram. Stefan jumps down into the hole and taps Bonnie on the shoulder. She screams.]
Stefan: Bonnie!
Bonnie: [not knowing who it is] Get away from me!
Stefan: It's me! It's Stefan.
Bonnie: Stefan? [relaxes slightly and begins to explain] The ground gave way, and I fell...
Stefan: It's okay. It's okay. Calm down. Come on, let's get you out of here.
Bonnie: How?
Stefan: Just close your eyes. Trust me.
[Stefan wraps his arms around her firmly and jumps. When they land, he releases her.]
Stefan: You can open your eyes now.
Bonnie: [opens her tightly shut eyes and looks around] Whoa.
Stefan: I didn't want to scare you.
Bonnie: How did you know where I was?
Stefan: Well, your grandmother told me what you were doing. I guessed the where.
Bonnie: I heard them...down there...behind the door. [beat] Are they in pain?
Stefan: In the beginning...yes. But not anymore. They've starved to the point of desiccation.
Bonnie: But if they have blood...
Stefan: That's not going to happen, Bonnie. They can't get out. Emily saw to that when she had you destroy the crystal. You're safe.
Bree's Bar
[At the counter, Elena, Damon, Bree and others are taking shots of liquor.]
Bree: Ready....Go!
[They all shoot. Elena downs hers quickly, claps her hands, and does a little dance.]
Elena: That's three! [She looks at Damon and pretends to pout.] Aw, do you need a bib?
Damon: Sorry I can't unhinge my jaw like a snake to consume alcohol.
Elena: Whatever. All right. Who's next? Another round, Bree.Woman: Honey, you should be on the floor!
Elena: [slightly drunkenly] I am not even drunk. My tolerance is, like, way up here. [Elena reaches for the sky.]
Bree: All right. Here you go. [Bree pours another round of shots.]
[A man enters the bar and goes to the counter away from Elena, Damon, and the other patrons. Bree goes over to him and motions with her head towards Elena and Damon.]
Mystic Grill
[Jeremy and Anna are playing pool.]
Jeremy: So, you have no idea where the journal is?
Anna: Nope. Gramps died. And all the kids split his stuff. I can ask.
Jeremy: I just find it weird that our ancestors kept the same kind of journal. It's crazy.
Anna: Maybe it's based in some partial reality.
Jeremy: No. It's gotta be metaphorical. My ancestor wrote short stories.
Anna: So, that's why you're hung up on the fiction of it all.
Jeremy: No, I'm hung up on the fiction of it all because I've seen "The Lost Boys" and "Near Dark," like, fifty times.
Anna: Are those movies? Hey, I've never seen them. Maybe we can have a Fright Night and rent a whole bunch of vampire movies.
Jeremy: Uh, yeah, sure.
Anna: Why does that sound like a "no way in hell"? Sorry, I'm blunt.
Jeremy: No, it's--I don't want you to get the wrong idea. I just recently got out of something. It's a little too soon, you know?
Anna: Oh please, sure. No worries. I meant as friends. Yeah. Look, I really gotta go. Nice meeting you, Jeremy.
Bree's Bar
[Elena is playing pool. Her phone starts ringing, she stumbles over and picks it up.]
Elena: Hello?
Jenna: Elena?
Elena: Jenna! Hold on, it's loud in here.
Jenna: Elena, where are you? Are you okay?
Elena: Huh? Yeah. No, I'm good. Everything's fine. Hold on, I can't hear you.
Jenna: No, it's not fine! I got a call...
[Elena goes outside. She falls and drops her phone. She picks it back up.]
Elena: Hello ?
[The mysterious man from the bar comes up behind her and covers her mouth. She drops her phone.]
[Back inside the bar.]
Bree: Hey, where's your girl?
Damon: Hmm. She was right back there.
[Damon leaves the bar. He looks around and sees Elena's phone on the ground. He picks it up. He walks around the bar, over to an electrical building. Elena is hanging on to a tank.]
Elena: Damon, no!
[A man attacks him with a wooden plank with supernatural speed. It was a trap. The man hits him repeatedly. Elena jumps down from the tank and runs towards Damon.]
Damon: What the hell?!
[The man pours gasoline on Damon.]
Elena: No!
[The man turns to look at Elena, revealing vampire teeth.]
Damon: Who are you?
Lee: That's perfect! You have no idea.
Elena: What are you talking about? What did he do?
Lee: He killed my girlfriend. What did she do to you, huh? What did she do to you?!
Damon: Nothing.
Elena: I don't understand.
Lee: My girlfriend went to visit Stefan, and Damon killed her. Got it?
[He hits Damon with the bat.]
Damon: Ahhhhh.
Elena: Lexi? Lexi was your girlfriend? She told me about you. She said that you were human.
Lee: I was.
Elena: Lexi turned you?
Lee: If you want to be with someone forever, you have to live forever.
Elena: She loved you. She said that, "When it's real, you can't walk away."
Lee: Well, that's a choice you're not going to have to make.
Elena: Don't. Don't, please, don't hurt him...
[The man lights a match.]
Lee: I'm doing you a favor.
Elena: Lexi loved you! And she was good! And that means you're good too. Be better than him. Don't do this. I'm begging you! Please.
[Lexi's boyfriend picks up Damon and throws him against the building, but stops attacking him after that.
]
Elena: Thank you.
Lee: It wasn't for you.
[He leaves. Elena rushes to his side.]
Gram's Residence
Grams: Well, now, look who's returned from battle. Can I talk to your friend for a minute?
Bonnie: [to Stefan] Thank you.
[Bonnie goes inside; Grams stands in the doorway.]
Grams: I appreciate your help, Stefan.
Stefan: You're welcome, Sheila.
Grams: [smiles] I wasn't sure you remembered.
Stefan: October 1969.
Grams: I was barely a teenager!
Stefan: And you were leading what was probably the only anti-war sit-in within miles of Mystic Falls.
Grams: Hmm. [smiles.]
Stefan: You know, when you spoke, people were mesmerized. I know I was.
Grams: Until the cops showed up. [beat] You took a big risk coming to see me earlier. Letting me read you, realize who you were. It could have gone in a completely different way.
Stefan: Your family has a very long history of keeping my secret. I knew that I could trust you if you believed I was worthy of your trust.
Grams: Bonnie knows, doesn't she?
Stefan: Yes.
Grams: Please understand, our loyalty can only extend so far. This town won't be easy on any of us if they figure it out. And I'll protect my own before anybody else.
Stefan: I know that.
Grams: As long as we're clear. Goodnight, then.
Stefan: Goodnight, Sheila.
Bree's Bar
[At the bar. Bree is alone and taking a shot.]
Damon: [approaches Bree from behind] We were just leaving, I wanted to say good bye.
Bree: [doesn't turn around] [replies flatly] Good to see you again, Damon.
Damon: No kiss?
Bree: [turns around] I'm full of vervain. I put it in everything I drink.
Damon: And you're telling me this why?
Bree: Lexi was my friend. How could you? [She turns away but Damon is already in front of her, scaring her.] The tomb can be opened.
Damon: [moving closer to her] You're lying!
Bree: Emily's grimoire, her spellbook. If you know how she closed the tomb the reversal process will be in her book. You can open that tomb.
Damon: Where is this book?
Bree: I--I--
Damon: You have no idea.
Bree: No. I'm telling you the truth.
Damon: And I believe you. My dear, sweet Bree. That's why I'm almost sorry.
[Damon thrusts his hand into Bree's chest and grabs her heart.]
Bree: Ugh!
[Damon rips her heart out, wipes off his hand, grabs his jacket, and leaves.]
On The Road
[In Damon's car.]
Elena: So, why did you bring me with you?
Damon: Well, you're not the worst company in the world, Elena. You should give yourself more credit!
Elena: Seriously?
Damon: You were there in the road, all damsel-in-distress-like. And, I knew it would piss off Stefan. And...you're not the worst company in the world, Elena.
Elena: I used to be more fun.Damon: You did okay.
Elena: I saved your life!
Damon: I know.
Elena: [smiles] And don't you forget it!
Salvatore Boarding House
[Stefan is in his room when Elena walks in to talk to him.]
Elena: Hi.
Stefan: Hi.
Elena: You could have told me.
Stefan: I wanted to tell you.
Elena: You said no more lies. Only the truth. I can handle the truth, Stefan. As crazy as it is, I can handle the fact that you are a vampire. And that you have a vampire brother. And that my best friend is a witch. I can accept the fact that the world is a much more mysterious place than I ever thought possible. But this...this lie, I cannot take. What am I to you? Who am I to you?
Stefan: You are not Katherine. You are the opposite of everything that she was.
Elena: And when did you figure that out? Before you kissed me? Before we slept together?
Stefan: Before I met you.
Elena: What?
Stefan: The first day of school. When we met. It wasn't for the first time, Elena.
Elena: Then when was it?
Stefan: May 23, 2009.
Elena: But that was...
Stefan: That was the day your parents' car went off the bridge.
Elena: You were there?
Stefan: Every couple of years I come back here, to see Zach and see my home. Last spring, I was out in the woods, by old Wickery Bridge. And I heard the accident. All of it. I was fast getting there, but not fast enough. The car was already submerged. Your dad was still...he was still conscious. I was able to get to him, but he wouldn't let me help him, until I helped you.
[Elena starts crying.]
Elena: Oh my god. When I woke up in the hospital, nobody could figure out how I got out of the car. They said it was a miracle.
Stefan: I went back for them. But it was too late. I couldn't-- I couldn't save them. When I pulled you out, I looked at your face. You looked like Katherine. I couldn't believe the resemblance. After that, I spent months making sure that you weren't her.
I watched you. I learned everything that I could about you. And I saw that you were nothing like Katherine. And I wanted to leave town, but, Elena, I couldn't. I couldn't leave without knowing you. I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you. I wanted to. But you were so sad.
Elena: Why do I look like her?
Stefan: Elena, you've been through so much.
Elena: Why do I look like her, Stefan? What are you not telling me?
Stefan: It didn't make any sense to me. You were a Gilbert. She was a Pierce. But the resemblance was too similar. And then I learned the truth. [beat]
You were adopted, Elena.
Mystic Falls Library
[Jeremy is sitting on the floor looking through books. Anna approaches him with a folder.]
Anna: There you are.
Jeremy: Hey.
Anna: Hi. Okay, look. I know I don't know you, so don't ask me why I did this. I just, sometimes...mostly all the time- I have this need to be right. So I googled and...
[She gives him the folder.]
Jeremy: What is it?
Anna: Proof. Sort of.
[Jeremy starts looking through it. It contains printed-out articles from the Mystic Falls Courier newspaper. Among the articles are ones titled "Another Animal Attack - Second attack in Two Weeks leads to closings and cancelations", "Campers Found Mauled - Animal Attack suspected in recent deaths".]
Jeremy: What does this mean?
Anna: Well, I only went as far back as 1942, and found that there's been a string of animal attacks periodically in and around this town for the past seventy-five years. It's consistent. In '62, five bodies found. In '53, four people killed. In '74, three people dead. And there's been five this year. All attacked. All suffered major blood loss, as in drained of blood.
Salvatore Boarding House
[Stefan and Elena are sitting together on the sofa. Elena is still shaken up.]
Elena: How do you know all this?Stefan: Your birth certificate from the city records. It says Elena Gilbert, Mystic Falls General. But there's no record of your mother ever being admitted. There's no record of her ever being pregnant.
Elena: What else do you know?
Stefan: For me to go any further, I would've had to look into the Pierce family, and I couldn't do that. It's too much of a risk. If someone found out I was asking about Katherine...Listen to me, it doesn't matter. You are the woman that I love. I love you.
[Elena kisses him. Stefan cradles her in his arms as she cries.]
Gilbert Residence
[Jenna is agitatedly flipping the pages of a magazine on the sofa when Elena walks in. Jenna turns around.]
Jenna: I don't set a lot of rules, Elena. Not with you. I trust you to tell me the truth. Where were you? Why would you lie to me about it? I thought that we were closer than that.
Elena: Now is not the time you want to talk to me about lies.
Jenna: Don't do that. Don't turn this back on me. I didn't do anything.
[Jenna gets up and follows her to the staircase.]
Elena: Okay...Question: am I adopted? I trust you to tell me the truth too, Jenna. How could you not tell me? I thought we were closer than that.
Jenna: Elena, I didn't...they asked me not to.
Elena: I don't want to hear it! [Elena walks up the stairs and into her room.]
Mystic Grill
[Alaric is sitting at the bar, drinking, when Damon walks and sits at the counter. Alaric turns in his direction and the two make brief eye contact.]
Damon: Bourbon.
[Flashback: Isobel is in bed, and Alaric is getting ready to leave.]
Isobel: I love you.
Alaric: I'm going to be late tonight.
[Later: Alaric returns and goes to the bedroom. He sees Damon holding Isobel in his arms, drinking her blood.]
[Alaric recognizes Damon as the vampire who killed Isobel. He sets his drink on the bar, his hand visibly trembling.]