"Previously on The Vampire Diaries:" "For over a century, I've lived in secret." "Until now." " I know the risk." "I have to know her." " She's a dead ringer for Katherine." " Why do I look like her?" " You were adopted." "This girl showed up, 16 and about to give birth." " What else do you know?" " Just her name." "Isobel." "My wife, Isobel, spent her life researching paranormal activity." " Where's your wife?" " Damon killed her." "There's a tomb under the church." "A spell sealed Katherine in that tomb." "I'm gonna bring her back." "She's not here!" " You knew Katherine wasn't there." " She knew where you were, didn't care." "Jeez." "You scared me." "Do you know what day it is?" "Saturday." "And what year?" "It's 2010." " You okay?" " Thank you." "Wait." "What's your name?" " It's Harper, sir." " How did you get out here?" "Why are you dressed like that?" "You seem like a very nice person." " I'm sorry." " Sorry for what?" "Hey, Bonnie, it's me." "Just checking in, seeing how you're doing." "We miss you here." "Don't let your aunt drive you too crazy." "Come home soon." "Love you." " What are you doing out here?" "It's cold." " Thinking, writing." "The, uh, funeral for Bonnie's grandma it brought back a lot about mom and dad." "I was wondering, you said that you would do some digging about them." "The adoption?" " Right." " So did you?" "Dig?" "Come on inside." "Your dad kept everything from his medical practice." "Records, logs, old appointment books." "I found an entry from the night you were born." "Patient and a birthdate." " Isobel Peterson." " Think that's her real name?" "Pregnant teenage runaway?" "Probably not." "First name maybe." "But where'd she get Peterson?" "A classmate?" "Best friend?" "So I Binged it." "I searched for all the Petersons in this area born the same year as Isobel." "Found three, two men and a woman, Trudie, who lived in Grove Hill, Virginia." " That's not far from here." " Well, watch this." "Isobel." " She was a cheerleader." " Ha-ha-ha." "Trudie still lives there." " This is her address." " What about Isobel?" "I couldn't find anything about her." "Listen, there's something else." "Mr. Saltzman, Rick?" "His wife was from around here." "And her name was also Isobel." "Wait." ""Was" as in?" "She died." "Alaric's wife might have been your mother?" "It can't be true, right?" "I mean, the coincidence alone is just crazy." " I have the address for her friend Trudie." " You wanna talk to her." "I don't know." "I..." "Ha, I..." "I don't know." "If it's true, and they are the same person that means that my birth mother is dead." "And I don't know if I could handle that." "Elena, did Jenna tell you anything about Alaric's wife?" "How she died?" "Just that she was killed and the case was never solved." "You knew that already?" "The night at the school when he attacked me he told me some things about her death." " Well..." " No, no, no." "It's not possible." "The coincidences." "It's too much." "Listen, if you do decide to go talk to Isobel's friend, I'll go with you." "Yeah?" "I just don't know what I'm gonna do yet." "I should get going." "I gotta go deal with Damon." " How's he doing?" " He's dealing, in his own way." " How do I taste?" " Ahh." "So much better than your friends." "But, shh, don't tell them." " They might get jealous." " Ha, ha." "No." "Buzzkill Bob." "Greetings." "Can we talk?" " Yeah." " Without the Tri-Delts?" "Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of them." "They're really good at keeping secrets." "You're worried about me." "That's nice." "Don't be." "There's no need, I'm fine." "Why wouldn't I be?" "I spent the last 145 years" "Get in that tomb." "I succeeded." "Granted, Katherine wasn't in there to be rescued, but why dwell?" "You know, it's so liberating not having a master plan because I can do whatever the hell I want." " That's kind of what I'm afraid of." " Relax." "I haven't killed anyone in, phew, too long." " Those girls?" " Will end up in their dorm." "With headaches." "Think they blacked out." "Business as usual." "Predictably, you didn't pull me over here for a pep talk." "So drink up." "Spill it, brother." "There was a woman you may have known a few years back named Isobel, in North Carolina at Duke." "You wanna discuss the women in my past right now?" " Seriously?" " You killed her." "What's your point?" "I just wanna know if you remember anything about her." " It's like a needle in a haystack, Stefan." " Well, think hard." "It's important." "Nothing is important." "Not anymore." "Great chat." "I have to go and exploit some women in the name of grief." "Which I'm sure you understand." "TTFN, said the Tri-Delt." "Another big game for Fernando." "Taylor is not gonna be able to take him down." " What?" " This is boring." "I'm bored." "Wow, ha." "But we have this entire house to ourselves." "I mean, it's practically a bachelor pad." "And?" "So shouldn't we do something a little bit more bachelor pad-y?" "What?" "Something like this?" "Something like that." "I don't know." "This is a pretty good show." "Seriously?" "Oh, God." "Not on my couch." "Mom." "Hey." "I don't know, it's just weird, you know, me being raffled off like a Disney cruise." "In this town, fundraising is like indentured servitude." "You don't have a choice." "And besides, you're a bachelor and you're eligible, so there you go." "Here, let me help you with this." "There we go." "Oh, God, I can't believe I'm gonna do this." " What?" " I'm totally gonna ruin this moment." "But I have to tell you." "Elena recently found out she was adopted and she's been looking for her birth mother whose name is Isobel." "Isobel?" "Like my wife?" "No, Isobel never had a baby." "Are you sure?" "Not before you were together?" "Nope." "No way." "This is Elena's birth mother." "Uh, she, uh..." "She never told me." "I, uh..." "I'm gonna go." "Yeah, I'm gonna go." "Trudie?" "Tru...?" "Trudie Peterson?" " Yes?" " Uh, my name is Elena Gilbert." "I wanted to talk to you about Isobel Flemming." "Well, I haven't heard that name in years." "How do you know her?" "I think that, um, well..." "Do you know if she had a baby that she gave up for adoption?" "Oh, my God." "You're her daughter." "I was just gonna make some tea." "Would you like some?" " Sure." " Uh, the kitchen's this way." "I wasn't gonna come." "I didn't think I was." "But I was driving, and I hit this stoplight and it made me think about when I was learning how to drive and my mom would always warn me about this blind turn on the left side and then I was thinking about my mom and..." "I had your address." "I'm sorry for barging in." "It's no problem." "Um, just a surprise, though." " I haven't thought about Isobel in years." " When was the last time you saw her?" "About 17 years ago, when she left to go have you." "We kept in touch for a while, but, well, you know, people drift apart." "And you don't know where she ended up?" "She was in Florida for a while." "She was on her own." "I know it wasn't easy." "Do you have any idea who my father is?" "I could never get her to fess up." "Anyway, she finally pulled it together, got into college on a scholarship." " Where did she go?" " Somewhere in North Carolina." "Duke, I think." "Smart girl, smart school." "Let me just grab that, ahem." "So it's been a few months." "Where you been?" "Oh, you know, here and there." "Never one place too long." "You know Pete." "No, actually, I don't, because you've never brought him around." "So blond's the new flavor of the month, huh?" "So sorry I scared her off." " She's not a flavor, Mom." "I like her." " So she's the one?" "No, probably not." "But maybe." "Matty, seriously, Lezzie Forbes' daughter?" "Ugh." "Mom, seriously, knock it off." "Ice, please." "So have, uh, you heard from Vick?" "No, but don't worry." "She'll come home eventually, when she needs something." " I've played that game." " Are you playing it now?" " No." " Then what are you doing home?" "You trying to say I need a reason to come back?" "Sit down." "Eat with me." "Tell me everything I've missed." "Hm?" "Thanks for meeting me." " Something's come up." " Jenna told you." " Yeah." " So it's true." "Your wife, Isobel, was Elena's birth mother." "What does Elena know?" " About your wife?" " About everything." " About you, your brother." " She knows what I am." "And she knows that you know about the vampires." " She know about Damon and Isobel?" " No." "I couldn't tell her, not until I was sure." " You said you'd help me." " I asked Damon." "He doesn't remember." " Ask him again." " Damon is not stable right now." "He murdered my wife, or at least made a meal of her." " When has he been stable?" " I'm telling you not to push this." " Give me a reason not to." " Your survival." "How's that?" "I'll handle it, but for now, I need you to let it go." "Is that what you'll tell Elena?" "Let it go?" "Leave Elena out of this." "I need to know what happened." "I'd think you would too." "I need more than just your wife's name." "A picture, something I could show Damon." " Is...?" " Just a few more minutes." "Can't you, uh..." "Can't you finish this in the morning?" " But I like working at night." " See, I like sleeping at night." "With you." "Okay, I'll bite." "What is it?" "Thesis stuff?" "Uh..." "Look, I'm in a three-way here with you and your computer." "The least you can do is let me know what you're up to." "I was doing research, and I dug up all this stuff about this small town in Virginia near where I grew up." "It's isolated, out of the way, and quiet." "And every now and then, people die mysteriously." "And they say that it's animal attacks, except these bodies are drained of blood." " It's vampires." "It has to be." " Okay." "I'll get my garlic and holy water." " And maybe, just maybe..." " No." " Ugh." "...we can get some sleep." " Oh, no." " Come here." "Look, this is why I love you." "Because you believe in all of this stuff so much so that you're making a degree out of it." "You're like Mulder, except hotter and a girl." "This is not a joke, Rick." "You think that this is cute but I'm gonna prove it." "And Mulder was right in the end." "Ah." "They came to the games for us." "The football team hadn't won in years." "We were the stars." "Well, lzzie was." "But I was a damn good backup." " This is great." "Thank you." " You're welcome." " You haven't touched your tea." " Oh." "Yeah." " What is this?" " Oh, it's just some herbal mixture." "Vervain?" " You know." " Know what?" "You didn't invite me in, and you're serving vervain tea." "You know." " I think that you should probably leave." " Wait." " What are you not telling me?" " Please leave." "Now." "Bourbon." "Behold the teacher." "Don't you have some papers to grade?" "It's, uh, more fun with a buzz." "Well, most things in life are." "Sober's depressing." " You don't strike me as depressed." " You say that like you know me." "Nope." "It's just a hunch." " You have a good afternoon." " Not likely." " Daytime drinking, huh?" " It's all the rage." "Listen, I need a favor." " You ever been in love?" " Excuse me?" "Have you ever been so bent on someone just to have your heart ripped out by them?" "You forget I was married." "Right." "Gay husband." "She'll have what I'm having." "Sit down." "Look, there's a fundraiser here tonight that the Founder's Council is throwing." "The town's most eligible bachelors get raffled off for dates." "And, well, we're short a bachelor." "Is this what you do when there's no, um, vampires?" "Organize bachelor raffles?" "Ha." "Trust me, at this point, I miss the vampires." "Mm." "Ha." "You're a hero to this town, Damon." "I know most people don't know it, but you are." "And you're single, and a catch." "Oh, come on, help me out." "Carol Lockwood won't let me live it down if I come up empty-handed." "Yeah, a room full of women clamoring to win a date with me?" " Sounds tasty." " Ha, thank you." "One thing." "Can you get me information on someone for me?" "Alaric Saltzman, the history teacher?" "There's something off about him." "And I just wanna make sure that the high school did their homework on this guy." " You got it." " Thanks." " May I help you?" " Thank you for the text." "You're welcome." "I didn't tell her anything." " I kept my promise." " Good." " The girl, though, she knew something." " That won't be a problem." "She won't get any closer to the truth." "Good." " So I'm done?" " Yes, you're done." "No, I won't invite you in." "You can't come in." "I'm not a vampire." "So, yes, I can." "I don't understand." "I did what you told me." " I did my part." " And now I have to do mine." " We can if you like." "I'll check it out." " I believe they're on sale." " Stefan?" " Better." " Me." " You look, um..." "Dashing?" "Gorgeous?" "Irresistible?" " Wrecked." "You looked wrecked." " No reason why." "Do you know that I am one of Mystic Falls' most eligible bachelors?" " Huh." " Yep." " How are you doing?" " Never better." "Yep." "What can I do for you?" "I'm a barrel of favors today." "It's my newfound purpose." "How can I help people?" "I'm just meeting Stefan." "We're going to the fundraiser." "Help a guy out, will you?" "Can't get this..." "So I found out who my birth mother is." "Ugh, who cares?" "She left you." "She sucks." "Stefan, there you are." "Hey." "Ugh." "I need a bigger jacket." "Wow." "You know, an occasional sorority girl might, um, you know, help fill you out a little bit." "He's fine?" " He's Damon." " This heartache will be good for him." "It'll remind him that he has one, even if it doesn't beat." "Won't hold my breath." "So I went to see Trudie Peterson." "I know." "I'm sorry, I didn't plan it." " How was it?" " She has vervain." "She knows about vampires, Stefan." "It can't be a coincidence." "It isn't." "This is Alaric's wife." "This is her, this is Isobel." "He gave this to you?" "Everything he knows about vampires, he learned from her." "He believes that she was killed by one." "Oh, my God." "Listen, there's a lot about Isobel that Alaric can tell you but I need you to hold off a little while before you talk to him." " Why?" " I know it's a lot to ask of you but will you do that for me?" "Tickets for the raffle are now on sale." "All proceeds benefit the annual Founder's Day Celebration." " That's a good look for you." " Oh, uh, embarrassed and uncomfortable?" "Yep, that's the one." "Ha-ha-ha." "Hey, look, I'm, uh, sorry about earlier." "It was just kind of a shock." "No, I'm sorry for dropping it on you." " I felt like you should know." " No, I get it." "At some point, maybe you and Elena could talk." "I'm sure she'd like to hear about Isobel, what she was like." " Yeah..." " Or not." "No pressure." "I don't know if that's a great idea." "Ahem." "At least not..." "Not for a while." " Where'd our girlfriend go?" " She's on her way to the Grill." "I, uh, wanted to talk to you." "This is the woman, Isobel, from North Carolina." " Remember her now?" " Who wants to know?" " I do." " Who else wants to know?" " Did you kill her?" " Sorry, don't know her." "Hey, are you coming?" "The real housewives of Mystic Falls await." "He's already been hit on like 35 times." "He's total cougar bait." " Impressive." " More like embarrassing." "Ha, ha." "Hi, Mrs. Donovan." " Elena, honey." " Ha, ha, hi, Kelly." " Long time no see." " How are you?" "Same old." "Oh." "Matty tells me you broke his heart." " Mom." " Just kidding." "Calm down." "He found his rebound girl." "Well, here you go, sweetheart." "However many that'll buy." "I just hope I don't get Bachelor 3." "Dated him in high school." "Not impressive, ha." "In any way." "Very exciting." "Oh, I've got the big date planned." "It's a romantic dinner, secluded spot, somewhere woodsy." "You're making me think I should buy a ticket." "Well, you are in charge." "You could always rig it." " I thought that was nice." " Mm." "Pardon me." "I ran the check on the history teacher." "You want this before or after your debut?" " How's it look?" " He checks out." "Couple of speeding tickets." "Rough story, though." "His wife went missing years back in North Carolina." "North Carolina?" " She have a name?" " Yeah." "Isobel." "Isobel." "And what do you do, Bachelor Number 3?" " Yeah, I'm a plumber." " Well, isn't that wonderful?" "We could always use more plumbers." "Moving on." "Number 4, Alaric Saltzman." "Wow, that's quite a mouthful." " What do you do?" " I'm a teacher at Mystic Falls High." "Oh, beauty and brains, ladies." "This one's a keeper." "What do you teach?" " History." " History." "Oh, well, give us a fun fact about Mystic Falls." "Something crazy." "Uh, well..." "He's probably saving the best stories for his date." "And last but not least, Damon Salvatore." " We don't have much on you." " Well, I'm tough to fit on a card." "Do you have any hobbies Like to travel?" "Oh, yeah." "L.A., New York." "Couple years ago I was in North Carolina." "Near the Duke campus, actually." "I think Alaric went to school there." "Didn't you, Rick?" "Yeah, because I know your wife did." "I had a drink with her once." "She was, phew." "She was a great girl." "Did I ever tell you that?" "Because she was delicious." "Mm!" "Mm-mm-mm." " Are you okay?" " I just need some air." "Elena." "He killed her?" "Damon was the vampire that killed her?" "I don't know." "They never found the body." " Oh, my God." "Stefan." " I know, I'm sorry." "I wanted to tell you, but I just..." "I wanted to know more." "I was feeling sorry for him hoping that this whole Katherine thing would change him." " I'm so stupid." " He doesn't know the connection to you." " I thought about confronting him, but..." " Why are you protecting him?" "Because you're not the only one hoping that he might actually change." "That man." "I saw that man outside of Trudie's." "Get back inside." "Come on." "And Bachelor Number 3 goes to 37458." "That's me." "Oh." "Kelly Donovan." "Lovely." "You and the plumber should have so much fun." "Congratulations, Mrs. Donovan." "Okay, just stop." "Stop trying so hard." "This thing you're doing, this nice thing?" "It's fake." "Like you, like your mom." "And for some reason, Matt fell for it, but that doesn't mean that I will." "I don't like you, okay?" "So tell plumber boy I'll be at the bar." "Whoa." "Easy." "Buy a ticket like everyone else." "Did you enjoy that?" " Rubbing it in to Alaric Saltzman?" " What?" "I was starting to think there was something redeemable about you." " Elena." " Am I missing something here?" "Did I forget to mention earlier when we were talking about my birth mother, the one that gave me up?" "Mm-hm." "Her name was Isobel." "Go ahead." "Reminisce about how you killed her." "Come on, let's get you home." " I have a message for you." " What?" " Who are you?" " Stop looking." " Stop looking for what?" " She doesn't wanna know you." "She doesn't wanna talk to you." " Isobel?" " You need to stop looking." " Do you understand?" " She's alive?" "Does that mean she's a...?" " He's under compulsion." " Do you understand?" " Yes, I do." " Good." "I'm done now." "Come on, let's get out of here." "Come on." "Three seven six four nine." " That's me." " Congratulations." "Oh, not me." "And Bachelor Number 5, Damon Salvatore." "Three seven five five two." "Oh, would you look at that?" "Three seven five five two." "What are the chances?" "Me." "Aw." "Where'd he go?" "I'll call you later." "Don't you think it's time to let this vampire crap go?" "The research, the trips." "It's become an obsession." " This is important to me, Rick." " Why?" "Why is it so important?" "Explain it to me." "I mean, make me understand." "I mean, what's the point of this?" "You don't want kids." "You're barely ever home." "I want us to be normal people." "Maybe I don't want to." "Maybe I want more." "Here we go, home sweet home." "Wait, why are we back here?" "I wasn't ready to leave." "Yeah, you were, Mom." " You're the best, Matty." " I know." "I'm..." "I'm sorry I was gone so long." "Why are you really home, Mom?" "It's Pete." "He's gone." "And it's all my fault." " I did it." "I always do it." " No, you didn't, Mom." "It's not your fault." "You're all I have left." "Please don't leave me." "I'm not going anywhere." "Are you really this stupid?" "Guess so." "You gonna put down the stake?" "Wow." " That's courage." " Where's Isobel?" "What have you done?" "Want me to tell you I killed her?" "Will that make you happy?" " You know what happened." " I saw you feeding on her." "Yeah, I did." "And I wasn't lying." "She was delicious." "Son of a..." "Ugh." "Oh, come on." "What do you think happened?" "Not an inkling?" "Never considered the possibility?" "I turned her." " Why?" " She came to me." "All pathetic, looking for vampires." "But there was something about her." " Something I liked, something special." " You turned her because you liked her?" "No, I slept with her because I liked her." "I turned her because she begged me to." "But you knew that too, didn't you?" "Hm." "I guess she wasn't happy at home." "Wasn't happy with life in general." "Wasn't happy with you." " This is a shame." " Ugh!" "We're kindred spirits, abandoned by the women we love." "Unrequited love sucks." " Sounds like I got a lung." " Unh." "Which means I get to sit here and watch you die." "What happened?" " What did you do?" " Do what?" "He attacked me." " Damon." " All I did was tell him the truth." "His wife didn't want him anymore." "Not my fault he couldn't handle it." " Like you've been handling Katherine?" " I'm handling it fine." "You know what?" "Isobel came to me." "She found me." "And if she's related to Elena, she's related to Katherine." "Maybe Katherine sent her to me." "Stop it." "You don't have to keep looking." "It can't be a coincidence that Isobel sought me out." "Mm-mm." "It can't." "I assume you'll take care of this?" "What happened?" "What's going on?" "You were just..." "Did Damon turn you?" "No, I, uh..." "I went for him, and then he, uh..." "He stabbed me." "No, you must have vampire blood in your system." " Somebody slipped it to you." " No, it's..." " It's something else." " Then how?" "I..." "Isobel." "Surprise gifts aren't fair." "I always feel bad for not getting you something." "Just open it." "Oh, that's a giant piece of jewelry." "I know, it's ridiculous." "Just tell people it's a family heirloom." " Nobody questions that." " Where'd you get this?" "If I told you, you'd laugh at me." "But promise me that you'll always wear it." "It'll protect you from all the things that go bump in the night." "A ring to ward off the demons, huh?" "Consider it a token of my love, my affection and if nothing else, an apology for being so crazy." "Well, you are definitely crazy." "I'm selfish and I am obsessed and I am a horrible wife." "But you love me anyway." "Yes, I do." "This ring protected me." "That's impossible." "I know." "Was there a problem?" "Did you find her?" "What's going on?" "Isobel?" "Pearl." "It's Harper." "I'm glad you found us." "Miss Gibbons?" "This gentleman is a friend of mine." "May he come in?" "Any friend of Pearl's is a friend of mine." "Please do, come in." "Annabelle, close the door, please." "ripped by looxlike"