"Previously on The Vampire Diaries..." "Damon, no offense, but I don't want things to go back to the way they were." "I have two little girls that I absolutely love and a fiancée that makes me feel so lucky to be alive." "You weren't even gonna say good-bye." "I wrote you a letter." "I'm not okay with you choosing yourself." "And I'm not okay with never seeing you ever again." "Bonnie's undercover at a psych ward in Nasheville." "There's a vault in the basement of the Armory." " What's in the vault?" " Something that can't be let out." "I need to know if the effects of those pills can be reversed." "The effects of my blood can't be reversed." "You know what would be a terrible shame?" "Is if that person were a witch." "Say Bonnie Bennett." "'Cause that would mean you just gave the girl you love a death sentence." "I thought I was protecting you." "I'm gonna die?" "I will not let you die, Bonnie Bennett." "Bonnie," "I..." "_" "Shh." "What is going on?" "Alex told the Armory to bring you in." "I'm not gonna let them." "Thank you." "Oh..." "Thank me when this is over, luv." "_" "Do you feel well enough to travel?" "'Cause the minute those anti-magic pills wear off," "Alex will be able to track you again." "I feel fine." "I don't feel sick at all." "I don't understand any of this." "Ah, luv." "Come here." "And I can't believe this is happening." "It's not." "This is just a... a series of unfortunate events leading up to your ultimate salvation." "I swear it." "Do I have to open the door?" "He wants to help." "And if I'm being completely honest, we could use it." "Great." "I have an idea." "No." "You don't speak to me." "You speak to Enzo." "If you have any ideas how to keep me from dying," "I'm sure he'll be happy to hear them, but I don't want to hear one word from your mouth directed at me." "You lost the right to my attention when you decided to leave without saying good-bye." "You're driving." "He can follow." "Uh..." "Hi." "Look, whatever's gone wrong," "I really can't do another escapade today." "No." "No escapades, no scar, no running from Rayna." "And thank you for your help with that, by the way." "Not like I had a choice, but... you're welcome." "So, anyway, I was actually hoping to, uh, speak to Caroline." "She's not here right now." "Ah." "Do you think I could...?" "Yeah." "Yeah, sure." "Come on." "Thanks." "You know, the odds of us getting through this without a single word being spoken..." "Lots of words can be spoken." "Just don't want him to speak any to me." "I thought we'd gotten past the anger stage." "We had." "We were blissfully not angry because we had blissfully moved on from Damon and his selfish, narcissistic existence, but when someone who you have erased from your mind has the audacity to show up at your door with flowers, and not even your favorite" "flowers... not even your favorite flowers, by the way, anger returns, anger floods." "I'm flooded." "Well, this is... quaint." "We'll be safe here for a few hours." "I've kept this place off the grid for years." "Lonely, cramped, like a prison cell." "I can see why you like it." "You know what?" "He's welcome to go back to his musty old mansion far away from here." "Miss the chance to see this den of iniquity?" "No." "Oh." "Cozy." "It's a big step, moving in with someone." "All right, let's do this." "Where are you hiding that pesky little huntress?" "Storm cellar." "Follow me." "Motus." " Get off!" " Hey, hey." "You're not a prisoner, Bonnie." "I'm trying to keep you safe." "Yeah?" "You got a funny way of showing it!" "Secluded cabin?" "Anti-magic sedatives?" "Yeah, it's to keep you hidden from the Armory." "All right?" "Look, I don't know why they want you, but they want you, and in my experience, when they're being dodgy about what they want, it's because they want it for dodgy purposes." "I thought you worked for them." "No, my allegiance is to myself." "Simpler that way." "What you should want to know is why you're important to Alex." "Now, in exchange for protection, plus complimentary room and board, you're gonna do some research for me, college girl." "Sift through these and figure out why the Armory is so desperate to get their hands on you." "Can Enzo not read?" "While I'm away, keeping up appearances with them, if you take one of these every day, you'll be safe." "Hidden from locator spells." "If I don't?" "I'm sure Alex has a cozy little cell waiting for you." "Why are you doing this?" "Maybe I'd rather see you alive than dead." "Maybe I'm just curious about what the Armory's plans are." "Or maybe I'm just showing you common decency." "I can tell you're not used to that." "Okay." "Say I take you up on this protection, for now." "If I stay here..." "I set the ground rules." "I expect nothing less." "What the hell's wrong with her?" "Her brain is full of visions." "She's still got a mystical connection to all those vampires who escaped the Phoenix Stone." "It's made her a little loony." "I'm right in front of you." "You don't have to talk about me in the third person." "All right, all right, kooky-pants." "We're here to broker a deal." "I already told Enzo I don't know how to help your friend." "Yes, and Enzo's the kind of guy who'd take no for an answer." "Me, on the other hand," "I'm stubborn, I'm willful, I'm bossy." "I usually get what I want." "So let me ask you this." "What if you had a little help brooming out those runaway prisoners?" "A hit squad, if you will, hmm?" "I'm listening." "Well, me and my pal Enzo here would be happy to wipe out anyone off your list in exchange for a teensy-weensy favor." "And what might that be?" "Oh, basically... we want you to die." "Not my definition of "favor."" "Enzo, tell the lady why this is such an amazing trade." "You're on your last mortal life." "I'm aware." "Now what we'd like to do is to take that shamanic life and transfer it to Bonnie." "We think it will heal her." "What if you're wrong?" "Bonnie thinks it will work." "She's very well-read on this stuff." "If I give up my link to the Everlasting, I'll die." "Yep." "But if you don't, I'll kill the Everlasting, and you'll die anyway." "Look, at least this way you get to be a Good Samaritan." " Is this really your best sales pitch?" " All right, ignore him." "He's the bad cop, I'm the good cop." "Here's what I've got to offer." "Okay." "You've been chasing vampires every day of your eight lives." "Every day." "Then a couple of renegade heretics went and blew up the Phoenix Stone, and now a bunch of its prisoners are out in the wind again." "So for the rest of your remaining days, you will have to chase those vampires to the ends of the Earth until you're too old and too weak, and, you know what, you'll probably die before you can finish the task" "you've been compelled by destiny to complete." "Or you can let us do your dirty work over the next few days, and you can die with quiet in your mind, peace, and a smile on your face." "Hmm?" "Prove it." "Prove what?" "Prove that you can kill the ones on my list in progress." "Clear them from my head." "When I can think better," "I'll consider your deal." "Great." "Give me the list." "Whoa." "You couldn't, uh, maybe use one of those psychic connections to conjure up a Google map or anything, huh?" "The way I see it, those pills you've been using on Bonnie will wear off in the next 48 hours, and the Armory will come calling for her." "That's if the withdrawal doesn't escalate her illness." "And those vampires could be anywhere." "You'd better get started." " Hey." " Hey." "Look." "The girls are growing up so fast." "They look like footballs in pumpkin costumes." "What have you got there?" "Blueprints of the Armory's underground levels." "You ever been down there?" "No, actually." "Uh, Alex said they were all sealed off." "I wonder what's down there." "The Armory collects things, right?" "Every museum has an archive where they keep the really good stuff." "What sort of good stuff?" "I don't know." "Unique things." "One-of-a-kind things." "The outliers of a collection." " Outliers?" " Uh-huh." "I mean, maybe that's why they wanted Elena." "A doppelganger." "And Rayna Cruz." "A shamanic huntress with multiple lives." "And me." "A terrible guitar player." "You still haven't burned this bloody letter?" "Every day I mean to, and every day I decide not to." "You know, he left me, too." "Damon." "We were best mates, side by side in Augustine cells for five years, each other's only friend." "We gave each other hope." "And then, one day, instead of implementing an escape plan we formulated together, he left me in a burning cage to die." "So... believe me when I tell you that I know how you feel." "And, look, let me just spare you the 50 years of mental anguish." "It's not you, it's him." "It's just who Damon is." "So stop wasting your time trying to figure out if it's something you did." "Someone like you, with all that fire and passion and... loyalty, you deserve much, much better than that." "Care and the girls left in a hurry." "Trying to stay under the radar till this Rayna thing blows over." "No, no, it's, uh... it's nice." "Yeah, thanks." "You'd be amazed what you can accomplish when your fiancée can compel an interior designer and an entire homeowners' association." "Mm." "Thought you were, uh, out of the game." "What do you mean?" "Well, the... supernatural world." "Oh, yeah, we are." "But have you ever dealt with a homeowners' association?" "No, no." "Can't say that I have." "Uh, look, uh, I'd offer you something, but I haven't been to the store in a while, so unless you want a juice box or some string cheese," "I suggest we go somewhere else." "I could probably use something stronger." "Ground control to Rayna Cruz." "What's our mission?" "I'm sending you back towards Texas, where the hellstone got destroyed." "Think of that as the..." "center of the blast." "Vampire souls scattered out in all directions, landing every which way." "I can see the places they go and the people they kill, things they see with their eyes." "Your next target is in Richmond." "Inside a bright, clean room." "Oh, yeah." "I know exactly where that is." "Please tell us you're gonna give us more clues than that." "You will, as they come to me." "I..." "I know it's not a lot to go on, but I'm hoping we can put together enough so that you guys can prove your effectiveness." "Wow." "You guys hearing this?" "Sorry, I'm just having a lot of difficulty wrapping my head around this new... cooperative team leader version of you." "You've always hated us." "Yeah, but I'm tired, you know?" "Multiple lifetimes-tired." "You realize that in over 100 years on this planet," "I've never had even one day off." "I just want a day without vampires." "One free day where I can... feel the sun on my face, eat a cheeseburger, watch the ocean." "Enjoy a few simple pleasures, for once." "And then go to sleep." "Tell you what, why don't we circle back to the situation at hand." "Where are you sending us next?" "I'm seeing a lot of teeth." "I hope word of this doesn't get out." "People already hate going to the dentist." "His heart's not in his ankle, Bonnie." "Shut up." "This thing has a kick." "Now." "Uh, that wasn't so hard." "_" "What?" "It's New Year's Eve." "Get up." "We're having dinner." "Mm." "Oh, and for the love of God, please put on something besides these abhorrent sweatpants." "What do you care about my sweatpants?" "I'm instituting a dress code." "For the holiday." "This is the best I could do..." "I thought you deserved a proper celebration." "If you would've told me a year ago we would be spending New Year's Eve together," "I would have called you crazy." "Well, you've called me far worse than that in the past." "So I was thinking about your cousin." "Whatever you want to call her..." "Alex." "How you said she never wanted to discuss her siblings." "But her sister Virginia's journal talks about how close they were." "What else does Virginia say?" "Kind of off-balance." "Seems to hate everything your family stands for." "Well, at least she knows what that is." "I'm still trying to figure it out." "Why do you care?" "Hmm?" "They abandoned you." "Left you at a workhouse." "You have two parents, right?" "Oh, sorry." "Um, had." "I know your dad died." "I had none." "Curiosity about what they stand for is what keeps me from hating them for leaving me." "What?" "Nothing." " What?" " Nothing." "Just, after all this time," "I think I'm finally starting to understand you." "May I have this dance?" "Really?" "Why the hell not?" "So, when I was reading the journal..." "Enough research for one day." "It's all I have to occupy me." " Yeah?" " Mm-hmm." "All?" "Not all." "Not counting guitar practice." "Eh, getting better." "And the fire-building." "You are nearly an expert." "And now this." "Old people dancing." "Quite... so." "As lovely as this evening has been, I really must get going." "It's not even midnight yet." "But I've already stayed too long." "If I don't show up, Alex will wonder where I am." "Forgot." "Being a double agent must be a full-time job." "Happy New Year." "Happy New Year." "Order up." "You're not gonna answer that?" "Damon and I are on a bit of a time-out." "Really?" "And after all that trouble he went through to get that psychopath out of your body." "Well, he's half the reason that psychopath was in my body in the first place." "These last few days have been a painful reminder of the complicated nature of our relationship." "Okay, Stefan." "What happened?" "Three years ago, you told Caroline you'd be with her when things were safe." "Rayna got locked up... and you never showed." "Well, that's not exactly how it went down." "Well, that's how it went down for Caroline." "There's more to the story." "Nothing you felt like sharing?" "Not at the time, no." "But now... now you're ready." "Right." "That's why you're here." "I mean, forget you couldn't manage even a postcard these last three years, but now that she's built a new life, there's a wedding on the books, and you're just popping in to share" "your side of the story." "Look, I made a choice back then, and I think that she deserves to know what and why." "Wow, that's... really nice of you, Stefan, you know?" "Because I think she deserved to know the what and why, you know, before you stopped calling." "It broke her heart." "Will you just answer the damn phone, please?" "What?" "Where are you?" "I'm trying to pick up the pieces of my broken life, and something tells me you're about to disrupt that." "Gold-star guess, brother." "Listen, I need some well-armed backup." "Any chance you can get your hands on a vamp arsenal?" "Probably." "Why?" "Long story." "It involves Rayna and some pretty nasty Phoenix Stone vamps and, uh..." "I'm trying to save someone who hates me." "Which one?" "There are so many." "Bonnie's in trouble, Stefan." "Now, I know you don't owe me anything, but I really need the help." "I'm with Ric." "Just tell us what we can do." "_" "Hey." "Fore." "Huh." "This Bonnie and Clyde and Clyde routine is starting to improve your aim." "I just picture your face as the target." "Been looking for you, cousin." "I'm flattered." "Not too hard to find you, seeing as you've left a trail of vampire corpses across the southeast." "Before you think about hurting me, my team knows where I am." "One text from me, and they'll storm the entire building." "Somehow I don't think you want that." "Well, it makes no difference to me." "I'm in here alone." "Doing what?" "Shopping for chairs, of course." "You can't keep hiding her from me." "I don't control Bonnie's movements." "So, it was her idea to go undercover at the psychiatric ward?" "There was an incident at my sister's hospital yesterday." "I was notified with all the details." "Virginia often has violent episodes." "That's why I had her committed." "After she killed Lucy Bennett." "You didn't know?" "Why on earth would I know that?" "Four years ago, Virginia forced Lucy to seal a vault in the Armory with magic." "Only problem was our other sister Yvette was still inside when they closed it." "I need to get her out." "Bonnie can help me do that." "I..." "Sorry, I don't mean to be callous, but unless that vault has a well-stocked kitchen," "I'm afraid your sister has died of starvation." "You're wrong." "Something has kept her alive in there." "I can hear her voice calling to me for help." "It's my fault that she's suffering." "I know you understand that kind of guilt." "I am sure that you did not come here so we could discuss our feelings." "Your situation is untenable." "You care for a girl that probably doesn't have long to live." "I need that girl to perform a simple spell so I can put our family back together." "I feel like you and I could solve each other's problems, Lorenzo." "Bring me Bonnie Bennett, and I will do everything I can to save her life." "Enzo's a big boy." "He can take care of himself." "I don't want to talk to you." "Look, Bonnie, had Alex seen you, she would have called in her SWAT team and all this would have been for nothing." "We had to jet." "I'm tired, Damon." "And I don't feel good and I'm worried about Enzo, so stop trying so hard, okay?" "Please tell me you're all right." "Don't worry about me, luv." "Our cousin Alex only wanted to have a chat, and then she let me go." "That's not sketchy at all." "Agreed." "Is she still looking for me?" "Of course." "Yeah, she's still banging on about this vault and how we should both work together." "You know, I actually think she's being sincere." "And here I thought your new boyfriend was actually smarter than your last one." "We don't trust her, Damon." "No, not for a second." "She's closing in." "So, look, after I wrestle myself a car," "I'll meet back up with you and we'll get back to Rayna's list, all right?" "Hello?" "You still there?" "Yeah." "Just one problem." "From what you know about the sickness, how much time do I have left after the, uh, first scab appears?" "Um... a week, maybe less." "I only heard two dogs howling at the noise." "Hilarious, as always." "You stayed away long enough." "Yeah." "Been busy at work." "Have me traveling more than I hoped." "I trust your other pastimes have borne more results than your guitar?" "Well, the fireplace is burning perfectly." "And I found something in Virginia's diary." " Oh, yeah?" " Yeah." "She knew my cousin, Lucy Bennett." "It's a bill from a psychiatric hospital in Asheville, North Carolina." "Virginia's been a patient there for the past three years." "She might have an idea about why the Bennett bloodline is so important to Alex." "Color me impressed." "New year, new me." "A new mastery over an instrument." "No?" "Let me show you." "I was doing it." "Not really." "Here." "This is it." " Okay." " You want to loosen up your hands." "In there." "And strum." "Yeah, now back to the one chord." "Right." "There you go." "That's it." "You wanted to get out of the house." "Don't be ridiculous." "Come now, surely this qualifies as a date, of a sort." "Nice try." "Doesn't count." "Doesn't it?" "Not unless..." "Unless what?" " Yeah?" " Talk to me." "About anything, please." "I need new pictures in my head." "Trees." "Sky." "Vervain grenades." "Much better." "Thank you." "How's Bonnie doing?" "Not as well as she's pretending to be." "How's Ric holding up?" "He's circling around the next campsite to lay cover fire on any egress routes." "I don't know." "His words, not mine." "So he's having fun." "He's only tolerating me because we're doing this for Bonnie." "And if this is how Ric feels, imagine how much worse it's gonna be with Caroline." "Lighten up." "Anything's possible." "I mean, look, take me and Bon-Bon, for instance." "Getting better every day." "Whoa, I got to jump." "Rayna's got a bead on our nasty little runaways." "It's go time." "Let's get 'Er done." "Lorenzo, don't." "I'm a friend." "Sorry." "I don't know you." "Of course you don't recognize me in this body." "It's me..." "Beau." "Beau the heretic?" "Wow." "Small world." "Well, welcome back." "And good-bye." "Don't kill him." "He's on the list, Bonnie." "It's not up for debate." "He helped save Caroline's life." "And her kids." "I'm not gonna let you murder him." "Oh, come on." "Really?" "Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa." "Take a walk." "Get a half-caf soy..." "And you still don't even know my drink." "And by the time you get back," "Old Yeller will already be taken out to the barn." "This is so like you." "Which part?" "Classic analogies?" "Or that I don't ask permission to do what needs to be done?" "What if Bleeding Heart Bonnie doesn't want to take out the next one?" "Well, this sounds like the beginning of an accusation." "In case you forgot, sparing Beau would've been a huge deal breaker." "Well, it's a good thing you took care of him, then." "That's what I do." "I take care of things." "And people." "I don't give them pills that kill them and let their own stupid judgment put their lives in danger even more." "No." "No, you're just gonna lie down in a coffin, hope that when you wake up, the mess you made will be cleaned up." "I made a mistake." "You made a choice." "I desiccated because I didn't want to hurt my friends." "But I am holding you personally responsible if anything happens to Bonnie." "I will hunt you down and rip your heart out of your chest." "Damon!" "It's his fault, Bonnie, all of it." "Do you really believe that?" "There's no other factor you can think of?" "You want to hear me say I made a mistake, huh?" "Okay, fine." "I made a mistake three years ago, Bonnie." "I shouldn't have given up." "I shouldn't have run away!" "But you did." "And I got over it." "Yet you still carry my letter with you." "Yeah." "Yeah, I keep it." "Keep it as a reminder to not trust the wrong people." "Well, you're not doing too well, sister." "Enzo here..." "Enzo has been there for me!" "Every single day." "Hiding me." "Protecting me." "Poisoning you!" "He'll figure it out!" "And what if he doesn't?" "Then I'll die!" "But at least I'll do it with him by my side." "I love him, Damon." "And I know that no matter what happens, he won't leave me." "This part I really don't miss." "Yeah, but the part where you helped Bonnie, that wasn't too terrible, was it?" "Don't." "Don't what?" "Don't try to get the band back together." "Yes, all hands are on deck right now, but that doesn't make us friends or earn you a place back in Caroline's life, okay?" "Well..." "I think that's something that she's gonna have to decide for herself." "You know, you're wasting your time, Stefan." "Let me tell you a little story." "When we moved to Dallas, Caroline joined a book club." "You know, it seemed like a good idea." "At first, it was once a week." "And then it was twice a week." "Then she started coming home later and later." "So one night I followed her." "Sounds healthy." "The point is this." "There was no book club." "Turns out, she'd park her car down by the river so she could cry, alone." "And then something happened." "She stopped making excuses to be somewhere else." "And the girls and I stopped being a placeholder." "And we became her life." "I get all that." "No." "No, you don't, Stefan." "She doesn't want to see you." "Trust me." "You know her pretty well, huh?" "Better than anyone now." "So who sleeps in the second bedroom?" "Excuse me?" "Well, I was at your house." "I saw the nursery for the twins." "And I also saw two separate bedrooms." "And then I saw an appointment for a justice of the peace, which doesn't seem very Caroline Forbes." "So tell me." "After you get home from City Hall on Friday, is that when she's gonna start sleeping in your bed?" "That's none of your business." "You can make look your relationship look good on paper, but deep down, it's a lie." "I know she doesn't love me." "But our life is not a lie." "All I can do is be worthy of her," "Stefan." "Which is more than you've ever been." "Not to be a crybaby, but... these feel a lot worse than they look." "Don't think I'll get much playing in." "Aw, that's a shame, luv." "You're in dire need of practice." "Go ahead, go ahead." "No, you're trying to look." "Gonna make you..." "Go ahead." "Impressive." "No, you're peeking!" "You're totally peeking." "No, I can see you're side-eyeing the guitar." "Don't mind me." "I'm just gonna go get the next name out of the job jar." "Ric." "Oh, you got to be kidding me." "Look, this didn't go how I wanted it to, all right?" "Really?" "You think you can just show up here and everything's just gonna magically work itself...?" "Caroline." "Uh, hey." "We just got back." "Mommy, read us a story." "Yeah, in a minute, honey." "I can put them to bed if you want to..." "No." "No, I got it." "Happy you're home." "What's wrong?" "Remember how Rayna was gonna give Bonnie her last life after we finished her hit list?" "Well, the good news is she finally said yes to that deal." "The not-as-good news is she added a few more names to the list."