"Previously on "The Vampire Diaries"..." "The cure to vampirism." "I knew you wanted it for Elena." "What if I don't want it for her now?" "If anyone tries to flip my humanity switch back on," "I'll become your worst nightmare." "Ty, stop!" "Hello, mother." "You believe that I can reconnect Stefan with his humanity." "And once we've done that, then we will go rescue my friends?" "They were known as heretics, vampires with witch power." "That woman made me a monster and then abandoned me." "Who's that?" "Damon's lame attempt to get my humanity back on." "And let me guess... then you get my humanity back on." "I don't think so." "I will never leave you again." "Mother." "You have to go after Caroline." "I'll find her." "Aw." "An angel." " How cute is this place?" " Adorable." "Ok." "So I'll bite." "So you hunt me down in a bar, where I am perfectly content feeding on the wait staff so you can whine to me about how your mom is a bitch..." "What kind of mother doesn't love her own children?" "Whatever." "So she spun you a web of lies and couldn't flip your humanity switch back on, and now you want to eat people, which I am totally down for." "So... what the hell are we doing in a BB in Grove Hill?" "Well, I figure we could take a little break." "Ohhh." "Duh." "First step... convince her that my humanity is still off." "I'll tell her that my run-in with our mother had no effect on me and I want to keep the party going." "Ah." "Look at that." "St. Stefan has a plan." "Let me guess..." "Whoever's holding the kitten gets to talk about their feelings." "Torture her until she breaks." "Sold." "So do I need to remind you two that the last time Caroline thought that we were trying to flip her switch she went on a killing spree?" "Well, she's not gonna find out this time." "Who are you calling?" "Hey." "Can I get some towels sent up to the room, please?" "Thank you." "I'm hungry, so I figure we can eat whoever brings them up." "See?" "He'll be convincing." "Fine." "Say she believes you." "How do you know she's gonna even want to see you again?" "Oh, she'll want to see him." "Damon, shut up." "I mean, it's a bit of a tricky bet for you, isn't it, brother?" "She's gonna expect a lot." "Ok." "What am I missing here?" "Nothing." "Hang on a second." " Did you and Caroline..." " Do it?" "Yep." "Oh." "This was after she flipped..." "Never mind." "It's not exactly how I wanted things to go down, but I can't change it now, so can we just drop it?" "Ok." "Sore subject." "Understood." "So what do we do once you earn her trust?" "We drain her of her blood, make her weak, and then bombard her with everything she used to care about..." "Memories of who she was, her friendships, her mom." " Did you bring it?" " Yes." "What is that?" "Caroline got rid of everything from her former life." "Her mom had sent this letter, intending for it to arrive after she died, which it did, but Caroline had already flipped her switch." "It could work." "Sure." "Unless she wants sexy Stefan time instead of an assault on memory lane." "I'm not gonna let that happen." "Now what are you doing?" "Just making us some drinks." " Such a gentleman." " Hmm." "Dinner." "Towels!" "Sure you want to do this?" "Let's just get it over with." "Stefan?" "Yeah." "What happened?" "We got caught." "Hello." "Hey." "This is a surprise." "Well, you know, I was just in the hood." "I thought I might stop by and bring my friend a little morning pick-me-up." "Thanks." "What is this?" "Uh, it's a mocha latte frappasomethin'." "I don't know." "I guessed." "Clearly." "So Elena told me that you guys found Caroline, which is great." "Funny enough, she didn't mention anything about a cure for vampirism?" "Please don't tell me you said anything." "I didn't." "Apparently, neither have you." "Well, yeah." "Look." "I've been busy, you know?" "My mom's in town." "I had to vampire-proof a BB." "Do you have any idea how many people" "I had to compel to make that happen?" "Quite a few I am assuming, which makes me wonder how you had time to bring your bud a coffee, hmm?" "You ever hear of april lyrids?" "Yeah, me neither." "Anyway, it's a stupid comet that my mom thinks that she's gonna use to pull her friends out of the 1903 prison world." "Ok, but we're not letting her people out." "Well, I may have reinforced that possibility when I gave the ascendant to her for safekeeping." "You what?" "!" "Come here." "Damon, you were the one that said her friends are vampires who can do magic." "I think the PC term is witchpire." "The term is freaks we've never dealt with before." "But it doesn't matter because she still needs you to do the spell to open up the door to 1903, Bonnie." "Oh." "So that means she's gonna come looking for me." "So we stall her." "Look." "Lily's like a bill collector." "You dodge her calls long enough, she'll leave you alone." "No." "Eventually, they shut your power off." "You better fix this before she becomes my problem." "And don't ever show up here pretending to care about me again!" "Oh." "Did I tell you?" "I got us into that cute bakery right off campus." "I have no idea what you're talking about." "To taste wedding cake for our wedding." "Oh." "I don't need to remind you." "Right around the corner." "Is this where I pretend to care about how our wedding cake tastes?" "I just pulled a rummy all-nighter at a BB we're supposed to be scouting for the wedding." "You can care about cake." "Did I mention that the cute bakery is right next door to an even cuter Tequila bar?" "Mmm." "Tequila." "My favorite." "Gin." "Again." "How many is that?" "Oh!" "Um, ahem." "Elena!" "Hey." "We were just keeping a really close eye on your friends." "Yeah." "Real close." "Yeah." "I can see that." "Yeah." "Good news!" "Your shift's over." "I'm here to relieve you." "In that case, I'm just gonna head to the honeymoon suite." "Ahem." "Uh, supplies are right here." "Uh, cards are right there just in case you get bored." "Supplies, cards, got it." "Yeah." "Great." "So we'll see you in a few hours." " Ric?" " Yeah?" "It's really nice to see you happy." "Oh, thanks." "I think they're awake, so..." "Have fun with that." "Phew." "Ok." "Err!" "Ohh!" "They vampire-proofed a BB." "How did they even know we were here?" "Why are you so calm?" "Help me." "Because I already tried." "You're wasting your energy." "Ugh." "Every move I make feels like sandpaper rubbing against my veins." "They're drying us out." "First they drain our blood, then they starve us." "I know how desiccation works, Stefan." "Ah-ah." "I wouldn't do that if I were you." "I can literally feel my cells shrinking." "You do realize that vodka to a desiccating vampire is like salt water to a human?" "What's with the lecture?" "Just shut up and let me enjoy this." "Knock, knock." "Elena." "Let me guess..." "Humanity police was your idea." "We really want you back, Caroline." "Remember that time Jeremy died and you turned off your humanity and tried to kill the prom queen, aka your best friend Bonnie?" "I forget." "Stefan, was that before or after she killed some waitress for no reason?" "I think it was after." "Heh." "You see, Stefan and I are just finding it a little ironic that you think you're qualified to tell us how to deal with the death of a loved one." "I'm not here to preach to you, Caroline." "I just came to show you this." "This letter from your mom arrived at our dorm just a few days after her funeral." "Apparently there was something she wanted to tell you." "Does this look real to you?" "Her impeccably perfect handwriting?" "Yep." "I remember when she taught me how to write my name in cursive." "So what, am I supposed to read this and snap back to sad, pathetic, motherless Caroline?" " Burn it." " What?" "Did I say, "stand there and look stupid"?" "No." "I said, "burn it."" "Well, maybe I should read it first." "Why do you care?" "I mean, what happens if eventually you get your humanity back and you hate me for destroying the last thing your mom wanted to say to you?" "Did those words seriously just come out of your mouth?" "God!" "Burn it!" "Now!" "Stefan, don't!" "No!" "Sorry, Elena, but if you want us back, you're gonna have to try a lot harder than that." "Hey, Matt." "Hey." "Can I assume that the woman who looks like she's never been in a restaurant before is your lunch date?" "Great." "She's early." "So what do you want me to do?" "Just wait 10 minutes, tell her I'm running late, and stall her till I find what I need." "Ok." "Thought you were off learning to be a sheriff." "Thanks to Stefan and Caroline," "I can barely tie my shoe at the moment." "What, are you here to stalk someone?" "I'm through with all that." "I've decided a direct approach is best." "One of your diners owes me some answers." "I can't have any trouble in here, man." "That will depend on how this conversation goes." "I know you." "You came to my house a few days ago." "Yes, and as chance would have it, your son and I are old friends." "My God." "Lorenzo." "It's you." "So you two know each other?" "The phrase "small world" comes to mind." "So does "epic understatement."" "Uh, my lunch companion has yet to arrive." " Won't you join me for a drink?" " Don't mind if I do." "She burned the letter." "That was my ace in the hole." "I blew it." "Look." "The fact that you suck at torturing people is nothing to be ashamed of." "That's why you have me." "Well, at least Alaric and Jo can cross this off their list of honeymoon options." "They have a list?" "Mm-hmm." "Jo's pregnant." "They didn't want to have to fly anywhere?" "Do you have a list?" "Of where I'd go on my fictional honeymoon before I give birth to my fictional baby?" "No." "But not here." "I thought you liked this place." "Really?" "What part of extreme floral patterns screams Elena Gilbert to you?" "Well, excuse me, missy." "I guess we've never played the let's pretend we're human fantasy game together." "All right." "Let's play." "You're human." "5 years from now, where are you?" "Easy." "With you." "Boring." "I'll need a zip code." "Ok." "Uh, in a loft in Tribeca above the bar that you work at." "You made me Matt Donovan in your fantasy?" "Ok." "You... you own the bar, and when you're not working there, you're... you're on our couch, pouring me wine and massaging my feet after a long day at the O.R." "I'm in the surgical residency program." "Of course you are." "Kids?" "Yeah, of course, eventually, but we should, um, probably have two, you know, so they can keep each other company when we're, you know, distracted by other things." "Hmm." "You got it all figured out, don't you?" "How about you?" "Your turn." "5 years from now, where are you?" "Um..." "Ugh!" "This is torture!" "Sounds like the rats are restless." "Ugh." "Like, actual torture." "Elena and Damon talking about their future together." "Echh." "Just..." "I want to die." "They'll make a mistake eventually, and when they do, we will pounce and drain the first person we can get our teeth on." "Oh, my God." "What I would do for just a sip of human blood." "You know when you're feeding on someone's neck and their artery's still pulsing?" "I really love that." "I thought your veins felt like sandpaper." "They do." "So take my mind off it." "Bored yet?" "Go away, Damon." "Brought you some real light reading from the true crime section." "Curious..." "which one of you idiots attacked a stadium security guard and stuffed him in a laundry cart?" "That would have been me." "Nice technique, although it's probably good that your mom's gone because that would have been a hell of a cover-up." "Why are you only picking on me?" "Stefan's in here, too." "Annoy him." "Because Stefan didn't snap a barback's clavicle in half." "You know, it's really quite sad actually." "I can see Liz right now, calling the parents, breaking the news, wondering where she went wrong as a mother." "She got cancer, Damon." "That is where she went wrong." "Oh!" "Blame her." "Healthy attitude, Caroline." "You know what?" "You're right." "I should really just be more like you and Elena, just play make-believe about the future that I can't have because that's healthy." "Maybe I'll pretend I can actually give birth to babies and have a normal family, and I can get a job without having to move and start over every 5 years." "I can operate on my patients without wanting to feed on them." "You're a real bitch when you're hungry." "I'm curious, Damon." "How does it feel to know that you can't give someone the life that she really wants?" "Shut up, Caroline." "I'm just stating the facts, Elena." "You didn't want this life." "You can play fantasy land all you want, but in this life, the one where you're a vampire, you'll always be settling, and it's just so sad." " I can't listen to this." " Elena." "I don't want to hear it, ok?" "Uh... may I please have a chicken sandwich and a bowl of soup?" "You bet, and that comes with a side of fries or skins." "Um, I'm sorry." "Did you say skins?" "I..." "I'm afraid I don't know what that is." "Neither, thanks, and I'm not eating." "Heh." "That was painful." "What's the matter?" "Your all-blood diet make you forget how restaurants work?" "My first time actually." "How did I do?" "Was I a blithering idiot?" "What are you talking about?" "Oh, I figured you were aware." "I've been imprisoned for the last 100 years." "That old chestnut." "Lily, you turned me and left me on a passenger ship full of headless corpses." "Wouldn't it be easier to say you forgot what cabin number I was in?" "If only that were the case." "No." "The night I turned you, my friends and I were captured by the Gemini coven." "Oh, I see." "All this time, you thought that I abandoned you." "I would never do that, Lorenzo." "I will thank you not to mention headless corpses again." "Those habits are all in the past." "At least it gives you and Stefan something to bond over." "Or maybe not." "It's not their fault, but they remind me of a very dark time in my life." "Not one for the maternal instincts, I see." "On the contrary." "They were directed elsewhere." "You see, I was trapped in that prison world with 6 others, caring for them as we starved, surviving on two drops of blood a week just to preserve our rations." "Sounds like a chore." "Loyalty is never a chore, Lorenzo." "At any rate, it's ill-bred to speak of such personal matters." "I do hope you're hungry." "It... it appears my lunch date has stood me up..." "Bonnie Bennett." "You see, my traveling companions remain trapped in that prison world." "Miss Bennett has offered to get them out." "Oh, has she now?" "Still looking." "She's gone." "I told you to stall her." "I couldn't." "She was with Enzo." "When did they leave?" "I don't know, but you better hurry up." "Do you know how many places there are to hide things in this house?" "So kind of you to bring me home." "Bonnie, are you ok?" "Still, I think you're wrong to worry about the ascendant." "Damon assured me all would be well." "You've got a lot to learn about your son." "What do you mean by that?" "Eh, he's not the most trustworthy chap." "Figured you were aware." "Is this entertaining to you..." "That the ascendant has been taken from me, that I've lost the only means of rescuing my family?" "Your family?" "You know what I am, Lorenzo." "You saw the horror on that ship." "The people in that prison world are the only thing that keep me from becoming that monster again." "Your real family is right here in this house." "Get out." "Lily, relax." "I said get out!" "Damon, Caroline's not right." "I'm not settling." " But you do want to be human." " You said it yourself." "If I was human, we wouldn't work." "Exactly." "It wouldn't work." "Human you chose Stefan." "Why are you acting like this?" "Just admit what you really want, Elena." "What do you want me to say, Damon?" "You want me to say that I'm never gonna be 100% ok with being a vampire for the rest of eternity?" "Fine, but I'm ok with that because then that means I get to be with you forever, and just the thought of that is good enough for me." "Why isn't it good enough for you?" "Oh, good." "Mommy dearest." "I'll let you take that." "This better be a pocket dial." "Where have you been?" "What are you..." "My mother?" "Is it with you?" "Is what with me?" "The ascendant." "It's not where I left it, and I very much doubt the housekeeper took it." "Maybe you misplaced it." "It is the only thing that can get my people back." "I did not misplace it." "Well, I don't have it, so start pulling up pillow cushions." "You have not heard me, son." "I need it back." "It's really not a priority on my list of problems right now, mother." "Find it, or rest assured, I can just as easily destroy something of great significance to you." "Tucked inside a shoebox." "Clearly you've learned the art of hiding from your mother." "You wouldn't do that." "Bring me the ascendant, or I will crush the cure to vampirism with my own hand." "Ugh." "It's like a million degrees in here." "Tell me about it." "He speaks." "You were so quiet earlier when I was tearing into Elena." "I was scared you were feeling sad for her." "No." "It was just hard to get a word in, that's all." "Ohh." "Much better." "I highly recommend it." "I'm good." "Thank you." "Are you sure?" "Because I can give you a hand if you want." "I said I'm good." "I heard you." "You know what else I hear?" "Your heart, and it's racing." "Am I making you nervous?" "Caroline." "When did you flip it back?" "Heh." "What are you talking about?" "Your humanity's been back on this whole time, hasn't it?" "Damon and Elena knew where to find us because you told them, and that's why they were only picking on me." "You must be having heatstroke." "How dumb do you think I am, Stefan?" "A few days ago, you tore my clothes off." "Now you don't even want to kiss me?" "What's wrong, hmm?" "What, you don't want to take advantage of me?" "You don't want to ruin our nonexistent relationship?" "Please stop." "Relax, Stefan." "I don't really feel like kissing anymore." "Incendia." "Phesmatos de strutos avox addellum." "Do not take another step." "You don't know what you're doing, Bonnie." "I know exactly what I'm doing." "I'm protecting myself." "For the first time, I'm putting me first." "Look." "I'm all about girl power, but just give me the damn ascendant, and I promise you Kai will not get out." "Oh." "You promise me?" "Is that supposed to mean something?" "This isn't about Kai anymore." "The people that that this would free are a million times stronger than him and us, and don't get me started on the fun they would have with a newly human Elena." "My mom has the cure, Bonnie." "What are you talking about?" "If I don't bring her that, she's gonna destroy it." "So your own mother is leveraging you?" "Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." "Phesmatos de strutos avox addellum." "Stop!" "Unh!" "Ohh!" "If I hand this over to you," "I am sacrificing myself again," "I'm risking my life again." "I could end up dead again!" "You don't want to push me, Bon Bon." "What do you want, for Elena to have a human life, to be happy, to grow old without you?" "If that's what you really wanted, you would have given her the cure by now." "Am I wrong?" "I said, "am I wrong?"" "I know you, Damon." "I spent 4 months with you, day in and day out." "We went to hell and back again literally, and you're more scared now than I have ever seen you before." "It's not about what happens if you don't give Elena the cure." "You're scared about what happens if you do." "If you think you can handle it, free a bunch of people who will want to kill me and anyone else who tries to stand in their way, and then you can spend the next 70 years watching Elena grow old and die." "If that's what you want, take it." "Oh, thank God." "Snack time." "Step out of the car." "Mom, what are you..." "I said get out of the car." "You're under arrest for the murders of Chris Benton, Jason Hughes..." "Mom, it's me." "It's Caroline." "I'm afraid you're mistaken." "My daughter's kind, compassionate." "She looks after those in need." "You're not real." "You can't be real." "I raised my daughter to be a good person." "Stop!" "I know what you're doing." "And she knows how hurt I would be to see her this way." "Shut up!" "Stop!" "You can't be here." "You are not my daughter!" "I know what you're doing to me, Stefan." "My mom died." "She's dead." "This isn't real." "It's working." "The pain you're feeling, let it in." "Starve me, bleed me out, put visions in my head?" "That was your plan all along?" "You need to come back now, Caroline." "Just get away from me." "I want to show you something." "Just take my hand." "Unh!" "I said get away from me." "I can help you if you let me." "Just please take my hand." "Please, Caroline." "Unh!" "I don't want your help, Stefan." "I just want you to die." "Your heart's racing again, Stefan." "Let me fix that." "Agh!" "Caroline, please stop." "Ok." "Needle and thread as requested." "Do I want to know why you suddenly decided to take up sewing?" "Heh." "Well, Caroline and I spent the entire day digging in the woods to find a Teddy bear, and now she wants to repair it." "She's very task-oriented." "Yes, I am aware." "What the hell is this?" "It... it's a memory, a real one." "Thank you." "You, uh, should have seen the look on Caroline's face when that bear fell apart." "You're a good friend to her, Stefan." "I hope someday you'll be more than that." "I'm dying." "I'm allowed to be blunt." "It's a time saver." "Well, I don't think the timing is right for me and Caroline right now with everything going on." "Oh, blame me, why don't you?" "No." "I just mean if I'm gonna start something with Caroline," "I want it to be perfect..." "No loss, no pain, no grief." "You might be waiting a while." "I'm a patient guy." "Hey." "Do you want me to mail that out for you?" "Oh." "No, thanks." "I'm still working on it." "I'll mail it out tomorrow." "I have an idea of what I want to say." "It's just..." "I guess I want it to be perfect, too." "You're a good mom." "I hope so." "I want to see the rest." "Let me see her!" "Wait, wait." "Mom!" "Mom!" "It's me!" "It's Caroline." "Just come outside." "I want to talk to you." "I want to read your letter!" "Please." "Mommy!" "Mom, please." "Come back." "Make her come back." "I can't." "No." "Just show me the vision again, ok?" "I..." "I want to see my mom, Stefan." "I..." "I need to know what she said in that letter." " I already gave you the letter." " No." "No." "No!" "What do you think she wanted to tell me?" "Whatever it was, it's gone." "No." "I did this." "This is all my fault." "No." "I tried to kill you, and then I made you turn it off, and then we..." "Oh, my God." "It's ok, Caroline." "It's ok." "I'm so sorry, Stefan." "I ruined everything." "I ruined everything." "Tell me you have the ascendant." "I can't, because I don't." "Then you understand what's going to happen next." "Oh, it will just be like old times." "I screw up, and you punish me for it." "Some things never change." "Spare me your indignation." "We both know I did you a favor." "That sense of relief you feel right now, that's the realization that Elena will never leave you." "You made her choice for her." "There's no harm in that." "As long as you're happy, she never needs to know." "Although wait a minute." "Making Elena yours forever, that's exactly what you want." "That wouldn't be a punishment at all." "Damon!" "Damon, is this..." "The cure to vampirism." "I left it out for you to find since Damon was never going to offer it to you." "Is that true?" "Elena, I can explain." "Looks like you two have a lot to talk about." "Ahh." "How is she?" "What are you doing?" "I am going home for a shower and a stiff drink." "What about Caroline?" "She doesn't want to see me." "Stefan, every emotion she's been pushing away just came racing back at a 100 miles an hour." "Yeah." "I don't need a lesson on how the humanity switch works, Ric." "Trust me." "She doesn't want to see me." "Maybe you should let Caroline decide what she needs." "Hey." "Hey." " Caroline..." " Don't." "Don't." "You ok?" "How can I be ok after everything that I ruined?" "Just don't worry about me." "I'm not gonna turn it off again, but you... and..." "Us..." "This..." "I just really need to get out of here." "You came." "In 1903, I was sick." "My own family had abandoned me, and you took me under your wing and rescued me from death." "As it turns out, loyalty is important to me, too." "They make cars so quiet now." "One hardly hears them coming." "I was out for a walk to clear my head." "I very nearly caused an accident." "I apologized of course, but I'd given the driver quite a shock by walking in front of his car." "His heart was beating like a drum." "I could see the pulse in his neck, and in that moment, I forgot all my troubles." "I felt no pain, no despair, no loneliness." "I fear it got the best of me." "What have I done?" "It's ok." "You're ok." "So that whole 5 years from now game and all that talk about our future?" "Not so subtle in hindsight, was it?" "I mean, I get it, but if I take this, everything changes." "I just never thought I would see it again." "That makes two of us." "My mother threatened to destroy that today..." " And I didn't stop her." " Why not?" "Because your fantasy of 5 years from now scared the hell out of me." "I panicked." "Damon, it was just a stupid game." "All I see in 5 years from now is you." "You see your entire future, and I want you to have that." "I want you to live in a big city and be a surgeon and have a family." "Then why would you keep it a secret from me for so many days and then try to have it destroyed?" "Because I'm an idiot and I'm selfish and I'm so in love with you and I don't want to lose you." "It's just..." "It's just too complicated." "We're gonna give it to somebody else." "Bonnie's mom or Caroline." "Already tried to pawn it off." "Fine." "Then I'm sure there's a long list of vampires who would give anything for a do-over." "You're gonna take the cure, Elena." "Well, I don't want it, Damon." "I don't want to live without you either." "You're gonna take the cure, Elena, and I'm gonna take it with you." "What?" "!" "I don't want to face my future without you." "I'll become human, too."