"Previously on "The Vampire Diaries"..." "How long has it been since you had a drop of human blood?" "Since the night I threatened to drive Elena off the wickery bridge." "You're not going to survive this cold Turkey thing." "You never do." "Go on." "Have a bite." "What are you doing?" "Stefan?" " Elena..." " This was a murder." "Someone drove this stake through his heart." "I would know if I were killing people!" "Have you had any blackouts?" "Instances of lost time?" "You wear a ring that lets you cheat death, Ric." "How many times can you die before it changes you?" "What are you looking for?" "I don't know." "A tumor, vascular anomalies." "Anything physical that might explain his behavior." "If it's medical, I can treat it." "And if it's not?" "Well..." "Then we'll deal with that, too." "When did you suspect him?" "That it was Alaric who was killing all of those people?" "It was after he told me about his ring." "I remembered a story my grandmother had told me about Samantha Gilbert and her secret journal." "I don't know if you know this, but we Fells are notorious busybodies." "Then why did you protect him?" "Because I'm a doctor." "I don't like to see someone hurt by something they have no control over." "And, because when he and I first met," "I felt like, I don't know, I..." "I just kind of want to help him." "No!" "Meredith!" "Meredith..." "Everything all right in there?" "Yeah." "Yeah, everything's OK." "Meredith says that everything is normal." "Well, everything is normal." "Because there is nothing wrong with me." "I didn't kill Brian Walters, I didn't kill bill Forbes, and I sure as hell didn't shove a hunting knife into my stomach." "Or I did, and I've gone insane, just like your ancestor, who..." "Wore that ring." "Look, I'm going to call Bonnie." "The rings were made by a Bennett witch." "Maybe a witch can reverse the damage." "Take it." "I don't want it anymore." "Ready to ditch this house of horrors?" "Oof." "Terrible." "Yeah." "Let me..." "let me check out of here." "Don't worry about him." "We'll take him out for chicken soup, we'll get him a Martini, make sure he doesn't kill anybody." "What is wrong with you?" "How could you just go out feeding with Stefan like some vampire pub crawl?" "Oh, right." "I thought we were talking about Alaric, but of course we're talking about Stefan." "You stood there and let him feed on an innocent girl!" "I didn't let him do anything." "If you want to get nit-picky about it," "I made him." "Why would you do that?" "Because we're vampires, Elena." "We need human blood to survive." "We're predators, not puppies." "Well, Stefan found a way around it before." "Stefan has built himself a delusional wagon which he has repeatedly fallen off of." "What he needs to learn is control." "He was able to manage it when he was drinking my blood." "Small amounts every singly day." "Ah, yes." "Back when you two were in love and it was all rainbows and unicorns." "I'm just saying." "Maybe you're not the right person to be teaching Stefan about self control." "Hey!" "Hey." "I totally lucked out." "The hospital just had a blood drive, so, I got some..." "O negatives, some as, and, my personal favorite, b positive." "Yeah." "I made her a daylight ring." "She's just been standing out there all morning." "I don't think she's taking this very well." "Well, it's only been a few days since she turned." "Your mom's still adjusting." "Miss Wilson?" "Why don't you come inside?" "You know, have something to drink." "I can't feel it anymore." "My garden." "It's gone." "I can't feel anything." "I don't understand." "Witches have a connection to the earth." "We can literally feel nature." "Life." "When Abby became a vampire, she lost it." "I don't know how to help her." "Rebekah's up to something." "She's been snooping around in places she shouldn't be." "Tell me again, why are we here?" "Ric, the world can't stop just because you're an accidental psycho killer." "Do you have any tact whatsoever?" "Alaric!" "I'm glad you're here." "Did you bring the sign?" "The restored wickery bridge sign." "The history department promised me you would have it today." "No, I don't have the sign, actually." "It slipped..." "slipped my mind." "I've been..." "Busy." "Well, it's not an emergency." "We'll just, um, unveil it when the bridge is complete." "Get me out of here." "My pleasure." "I'm going to stick around for a bit." "Who is that?" "Blast from the past." "... construction has begun replacing the original wooden support structure to meet modern safety standards." "And, our beautification phase will begin in the spring." "So give yourselves a hand." "Damon Salvatore." "My favorite student." "Sage, my hottest teacher." "What are you doing here?" " I'm just passing through." " Oh, come on." "No one just passes through Mystic Falls." "Look what the cat dragged in." "Easy there, Rebekah." "You know, she used to beat men for sport." "She always was quite common." "Rebekah." "What a happy surprise." "What are you doing here, Sage?" "Well, I heard" "Finn was finally freed from that casket your rageaholic brother Klaus carted him around in." "Oh, Finn." "You just missed him." "He left town and didn't tell us where he was going." "Oh." "He probably went looking for me." "Or, quite possibly, he forgot all about you." "I doubt that." "Oh?" "Because he didn't seem to mention you." "Sorry you came all this way for nothing." "Have a nice life." "God, I had that ugly elitist original bitch." "Hi." "Hey." "I'm sorry." "Damon told Alaric that there was no one home." "Otherwise, I would have..." "I just got home." "I just came by to pick up this book that you found on my ancestor Samantha." "That's fine." "Uh, how are you doing?" "Damon said that you were... yeah, I'm, uh, I'm OK." "Did you get everything you need?" "Yeah." "Well, if there's anything I can do to help..." "You don't have to read that, you know." "I can just tell you what happened." "Samantha Gilbert was committed to an insane asylum." "She tried to give herself a lobotomy with a knitting needle." "And bled to death on the floor of her cell." "If the same thing is happening to Alaric, then there's..." "Nothing you can do." "OK, well..." "I'm going to let you get back to, uh, whatever it was you were doing." "Finn?" "Really?" "He's my one true love." "He turned me so we could be together forever." "Then Klaus daggered him and locked him away and I've been waiting ever since." "Please don't tell me that you and Rebekah are friends." " Ah, not unless you count the hate sex." " Good." "'Cause her and Klaus always treated me like some peasant whore." "Ah, she's just lurking around because she wants something from me." "I can't figure out what it is, though." "Why don't you get inside her head and find it?" "Because it's impossible." "She's too strong." "I bet I can get in there." "Sage, she's an original." "It's not going to happen." "Have you forgotten everything I taught you?" "Rebekah may be an original, but she's a girl." "You find her weakness and exploit it, and I'll walk right in." "That is, if you want my help." "Anyone ever tell you you're sexy when you're bitchy?" "We're talking now, are we?" "Because you were quite rude the other day." "Using me to help you with Stefan, and then shooing me away like a stray dog." "Ah, that was brother business." "You can't hold that against me." "Besides, I really did appreciate your help." "Even if I didn't show it." "You were mean." "You like mean." "No." "I don't." "No?" "You didn't get a thrill back there pushing Sage down, crushing her dreams of true love?" "Maybe a little." "See?" "Mean." "Can Sage and I interest you in a drink back at the house?" "Not a chance in hell." "You know what they say." "Two's company." "Three is a party." "OK." "Enjoy the rest of your day." "Haven't seen you up at the house." "Abby's been asking for you." "I've been pretty busy." "Hey, hey!" "Stay away from me!" "Easy!" "I was just going to help you carry the firewood up!" "You're scared of her." "She's a vampire." "She needs to feel connected to the people she loves." "She needs to feel normal right now... she's not normal." "None of this is normal." "Well, Abby didn't choose this." "This was forced on her." "She could have let herself die but she didn't." "She's trying to make this work so she can be there for you, and for Bonnie, so..." "So just get over yourself!" "OK?" "Hey, what's going on?" "Bonnie's not returning any of my calls." "Sorry." "She's still mad." "And, seriously," "Abby's transition has been a little rough, so she's got a lot on her mind." "I know." "And I get it." "But..." "Something really terrible is happening to Ric, and I really need her help." "I really don't think you should be looking through that stuff." "Restraining orders and all." "My life in a series of police reports." "You don't strike me as an angry guy." "Which sounds weird, given everything." "But..." "You don't." "Yeah, well, I was stupid when I was younger." "But listen, it's not like these guys didn't have it coming." "I mean..." "This guy here broke a beer bottle over a bartender's head." "And this guy..." "Hit his girlfriend." "And this guy..." "OK, this guy was just a douche." "Everyone needs to find a way to deal with their dark side." "Some people meditate." "I became a vampire hunter." "Mmm, semi-retired." "Ahh." "Listen, there's something that's not in these reports that I need to tell you about." "OK..." "Ominous." "Shoot." "Your cousin Logan Fell, the one who was vampire slayed..." "I did the slaying." "The vampire thing..." "It's not my fight." "I use their blood for what I need and leave the judgment to everyone else." "Although, I have kind of been wondering why you never drew a stake through Damon's heart." "I tried once." "He killed me." "Yeah." "Yeah, figures." "The thing that started all this ring stuff was me being angry enough to think I could take on a vampire in the first place." "Oh, come on." "Slow down, brother." "Whoa." "Control, remember?" "Doesn't matter whether it's blondes or blood bags, same principles apply." "What did you say to Elena this morning?" "Oh, you're stress eating." "Sublimating." "You need to observe each other while you're pining and moping." "I asked you a question, Damon." "I told her what she already knows... you're a vampire and you drink human blood." "And to get over it." "Which is the same thing I'm telling you." "Own it, live it, love it." "Stop being ashamed of who you are." "Do me a favor, Damon... next time you talk to Elena, keep me out of it, OK?" "Gladly." "Now, unless you're interested in a Sage-Rebekah sex sandwich," "I suggest you make yourself..." "Scarce." "Who are you, again?" "The guy who lives out back." "You know, the one you're not related to." "Right." "Caroline and I had a little talk." "Sounds like code for Caroline lectured you." "Maybe." "But I needed it." "Abby's always been there for me." "Now it's my turn." "Thought I could build a fire." "Please." "Maybe it'll distract everyone from my crappy cooking." "Jamie..." "I'm so sorry, Abby." "I'm sorry about everything." "No!" "Abby!" "Remember this song?" "All right, miss master seductress, where's our victim?" "Patience." "Between her craving for affection and her pathological fear of being left alone, our little get together is too tempting to resist." "Finn's gone, you know." "I choose to believe otherwise." "He strung you along for 900 years, didn't bother to call." "He's gone." "You know, the Damon I knew was holding out for someone, too." "Yes, he was." "Hope's a bitch, Sage." "Get out while you can." "The sweet chime of desperation." "I stole it from Nik who stole it from a queen." "I'm not sure which one." "Well, this is depressing." "What happened to the party?" "It just arrived." "It's not a duet." "What about her?" "I want her." "And I want you." "You have to drink these." "It'll help." "I almost killed him!" "Caroline said that this kind of thing happens a lot at first, when you're still... no, no." "I should just go right now, before I hurt Jamie again, or you!" "The only way you're going to hurt me is if you leave." "Don't give up on this." "Not again." "We can make this work." "He's fine." "Nothing a little vampire blood can't cure." "Thank you." "Now I need a favor." "Listen, I want you to have this." "This is a list of my bank accounts, passwords, where to find my will and how to contact my family just in case this doesn't go my way." "No, no, don't even think like that." "Elena, I need to know that you and Jeremy are going to be OK." "We're all going to be fine." "Caroline?" "So Abby thinks Bonnie can reverse the damage with a spell." "I guess the same thing happens with witches who become obsessed with dark magic." "They lose control and start acting out their darkest impulses." "Thank you so much." "I'm going to hang back here with Abby, but Bonnie's leaving now, so if... um, hold on." "I need a personal effect of Alaric's." "Something he wore before he started wearing the ring." "OK." "I'll get it." "Um..." "Bonnie, I'm so sorry for everything." "Thank you for doing this." "Be ready to do the spell as soon as I get there." "We have to work fast." "I'll see you soon." "Good news, bad news?" "Bonnie thinks that she can help you with a spell." "Well, it's worth a try." "But she needs something that you wore before you put on the ring." "Something personal." "Well, there's, uh..." "My wedding ring." "It's at the loft." "OK, yeah." "Um, that's a good idea." "I think it's better if you stay here with me." "Oh, you and your tranquilizers." "It's in the dresser by the kitchen." "It's in, uh, an aspirin bottle." "Probably covered in cobwebs." "OK." "I take it back." "Your plan is amazing." "I told you, if you got her comfortable enough..." "She's an open book." "Well, are you going to torture me or are you going to tell me what she's up to?" "I'd rather show you." "The white oak tree." "It must have been the only tree to replace the old." "It probably got cut down." "Do you happen to know who kept the milling ledgers during that period?" "There's another tree." "Milling records?" "Our family made one of its many fortunes selling lumber." "That's why Rebekah's been digging around about this stuff." "That tree was on our land and milled by our yard." "The letters will tell me where it was shipped." "The business archives should be around here somewhere." "Get upstairs." "Make sure you keep her distracted." "You've got to be kidding me." "Missed you at the house." "Alaric told me you'd be here." "You made yourself perfectly clear this morning, Stefan." "You don't want to be around me." "I'm not trying to hurt you, Elena." "I just can't be who you want be to be right now." "I'm not in control." "So then what are you doing here?" "Well, I, uh, did a little more digging on Samantha Gilbert." "Founding family's were always pretty good about it about destroying their records, but I found a couple of newspaper articles." "Seems she killed two people while she was in the institution." "A nurse and a guard." "So she was a psychopath." "I get it." "She was under suicide watch." "No personal effects." "No jewelry." "Wait, so you're saying that the violent behavior can still happen even if the person isn't wearing the ring?" "Still with me?" "Yeah." "Yeah, I'm still with you." "I'm half-dead, too." "Neither one of us has slept in two days." "Don't worry..." "I've got coffee on." "Rebekah just left." "Happy, I hope." "Did you find what you were looking for?" "Yep." "In 1912, the Salvatore milling company chopped down a forest." "Its most valuable wood came from an old white oak tree that was used to make the wickery bridge." "These aren't public records, so Rebekah's going to chase her tail for a long time." "So all the wood stripped from the underside of that bridge is basically a weapon that could kill an original." "Yep." "You see how this could be a problem for me, right?" "Why?" "Because of your true love Finn?" "Let me tell you something..." "I've met the guy." "You're not going to miss him." "I will rip your head off in two seconds if you take one more step." "All right, let's make a deal." "You want me to kill Rebekah," "I consider Finn untouchable, you guys walk into the sunset together." "Is that a promise?" "Yes." "It's a promise." "If Bonnie's spell doesn't work, what are you going to do with him?" "I'm not going to do anything, Stefan." "I'm going to keep looking until we can find something that will help him." "You don't know how long this has been going on." "It might be too late." "It's my family's ring that's doing this to him." "It's my responsibility to fix it." "You can't put that on yourself." "Not everyone is your responsibility." "Not everyone can be saved." "Are we talking about Alaric here?" "Or are we talking about you?" "Because I wasn't planning on giving up on either of you." "What is that?" "Pictures of his victims." "Sage, let's go." "We have originals to kill." "Sage..." ""Jeremy, if anything happens to me," ""carry on my work." ""You have the other ring, let the ring make you strong." "The council must be cleansed before the work can begin."" "It's the founders council roster." "Looks like some sort of hit list." "No, Alaric didn't write this." "Who else would have written it, Elena?" "I have to get back." "Looking for something?" "I don't know where anything is in this house." "I'm sorry, I can't remember, do you take cream?" "No cream." "I was going to make sandwiches." "I am starving." "Can I ask you a question?" "No mustard." "I hate mustard." "Do you ever feel remorse?" "Sorry?" "Well..." "You are a council member." "And the council was formed to protect the people of this town from vampires, yet here you all are, just looking the other way;" "ignoring your responsibilities." "Like you, and your vampire blood." "So I'm asking you." "Do you ever feel remorse?" "Because you should." "Aaah!" "Your grand plans always seem to get ruined, don't they?" "Sorry to disappoint you." "Again." "You set me up." "No." "I'm just looking out for myself." "I told you I'd save your creepy boyfriend!" "And you lied to me, Damon!" "The originals are linked." "If one dies, they all die." "If I can get inside her head, don't think I'd be able to get inside yours?" "I should eat you." "I'm 900 years old, Damon." "You're not capable of ending me." "Do you really think that I would risk Finn's life for one of your petty revenge fantasies?" "Let me tell you something... your long lost love has a suicide wish." "So when mama witch linked them together in a spell, he's the one who volunteered to die." "He wouldn't do that." "He didn't want to live." "Not for you, not for anyone." "He doesn't love you, Sage." "And when I do find another way to kill those originals," "I'll start with Finn." "Hey there." "Hi." "Where's Meredith?" "Oh, she got called in to the hospital for a last minute surgery, but she'll be back later." "What happened?" "Oh, I..." "Broke a coffee cup and sliced my hand open trying to pick up the pieces." "But I'll..." "I'll live." "Did Stefan catch up with you?" "No." "Did you get my ring?" "I..." "I couldn't find it." "Yeah, well, my place is a bit of a disaster." "I guess I'll, uh, I'll just have to go get it." "No, don't hurt him!" "I'll try not to." "Elena, I need you to come upstairs with me." "Why?" "I'm going to need your help." "Meredith!" "OK, OK." "You're going to be OK." "What the hell are you doing here?" "Just making sure the witch didn't turn you into a toad or a block of salt." "Bonnie did a little spell." "It's nothing to worry about." "Just something to keep the killer in you at bay." "Did something happen?" "Let's just say you've got an alter ego hell bent on killing council members." "So we're going to pack up some of your stuff, we're going to go to the loft, just for a little bit." "You know, it's like house arrest, light." "Wait, where's Meredith?" "She'll be fine, Ric." "Hey." "You OK?" "Yeah, I'm fine." "Abby says that all the dying and coming back to life might have chipped away at Alaric's psyche, making it easier for the darkness to take hold." "These herbs are the binding element of the spell." "He needs to take them twice a day." "I'll get you more." "Abby and I are going to work on the garden." "How is she doing?" "The transition's been hard, but I think she'll be OK." "Eventually." "I'm going to go back and stay with her for a while." "It'll give us a chance to work things through." "I'm sorry, Bonnie." "I didn't..." "I didn't want this to happen." "If there's anything that I can do to make it different, I..." "I know." "Please say that you forgive me." "Of course I do." "Am I even doing this right?" " Yeah, you're doing fine." " OK." "Hey, um, thanks for helping out with Abby." "Bonnie's really lucky to have a friend like you." "Well..." "I went through the same thing once." "Ahem." "With my dad." "But it didn't really work out." "So..." "You know." "Well, when Bonnie gets back, she can snap her fingers or wave her hands or whatever, and make the herbs bloom." "I think Abby's up." "What are you doing?" "You're leaving." "You kidding me?" "I have to." " I don't know how to do this." " Do what?" "Be a vampire or a parent?" "Because I can help you be a vampire." "I can teach you self control." "But being a parent, I mean, that's all you." "Bonnie grew up without a mom because you ran away once." "But now you have an eternity to make up for it and you're just going to throw that away?" "She's better off without me!" "No, she's not!" "No one is better off without their parents." "She wants to make this work." "Please." "Just stay." "Tell them I'm sorry." "Hello?" "Hey, stranger." "Hey, you checking up on me?" "Do you need checking up on?" "Well, I'm not flunking any of my classes." "Yet." "And I got a dog." "Hey, have you talked to Alaric lately?" "Uh, no, why?" "Is everything OK?" "Yeah, everything is fine." "Um, I just wanted to hear your voice." "OK." "Hey, can I call you later?" "I'm actually on my way out with some friends." "Yeah, um, of course, Jer." "Go out." "Go have fun and, um..." "I..." "I just miss you." "Yeah." "Yeah, I miss you, too." "Little early in the day for you, isn't it?" "Just having a little toast." "To what?" "Control." "You're happy, I'm happy." "Why are you in such a good mood?" "Sage double crossed you, tree's a pile of Ash," "Alaric's got a psychopathic alter ego." "You know, Stefan," "I'm a philanthropist." "I make the world a better place." "Restoring bridges, landmarks, and..." "Historical signs made of the same white oak as the wickery bridge." "They think all the wood burned." "I sold my rage." "Phew." "You should have seen me." "We have a weapon." "Game's back on, brother." "Let's go kill some originals."