Damon and Lucy sat in Elijah's living room while they waited for him to clean up. Finally, he emerged freshly showered in a new suit. "That is much better," he said with a twist of his head. He sat in one of the chairs. "So the children killed the Martins. The slim advantage I still held against my brother is gone."

"Still planning on killing him then?" Lucy asked. She'd been hoping he'd change his mind. Niklaus was the last living member of his blood family.

His dark eyes studied her for a moment. "Of course."

She nodded. She didn't like it, but she understood.

"And how exactly were you planning on doing that? You never really said," Damon asked.

"I intend to remove his cold, dead heart from his chest," the Original answered with a blank expression though Lucy caught the twitch of a muscle in jaw. "Without the witches I cannot guarantee he will remain incapacitated long enough for me to do so."

"Bonnie?" Damon said with a glance to his girl.

Lucy curled her lip. "I don't trust her."

"She'd die to save Elena," he corrected. "If she thinks that's what she's doing, we can trust her."

"Elena will already be dead by the time Ms. Bennett is needed, her fate in the hands of a very old potion," Elijah said.

Lucy sighed. "Maybe I can talk to Klaus. Get him to postpone so we can come up with a better plan."

Damon rolled his eyes. "I don't think so. I don't want you anywhere near Klaus."

"Well, it's too late for that."

There was a long stretch of silence as Damon stared at Lucy and she did her best to look at literally anything but him. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

When there wasn't an immediate answer, he tugged on her arm to make her look at him. "What does that mean, Lucy?"

When she still didn't respond, Elijah took it upon himself to answer. "The only cure for a werewolf bite resides in my brother's blood. In exchange for Lucy's life, she had to promise three favors of his choosing. Though there are limitations."

Damon's head snapped to the side to glare at his girlfriend. "Were you ever going to tell me this?"

"We just did." She couldn't look at him. She'd lose him now. Damon didn't like complications and this was the biggest fucking complication she could think of.

He stood and stared down at her, willing her to look at him. "How could you possibly think this was a good idea? The guy's such an asshole his own brother wants to kill him and you're selling yourself to him?"

Her gaze shifted up to him as she frowned and he flinched at the tears in her eyes. "Don't make me sound like a whore, Damon. Would you rather I was dead? Because that was the alternative."

He raked a hand through his hair. "Of course not." He paced the floor before looking back at her. "I need a moment. I'm going to talk to Stefan."

With that, he stormed out the door, slamming it behind him. Lucy stared after him as her heart broke and a single tear ran down her cheek.

Elijah stood and wiped the drop away with his thumb. He grasped her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Come, Lucy. We will call my brother and face the beast together."

***

To say Lucy was surprised to find herself at Alaric's apartment was an understatement. She and Elijah were supposed to be meeting Klaus. What the hell was he doing here? She found it hard to believe that the teacher was working for the enemy all along.

Elijah knocked and the door was answered by a smiling Ric. "Brother, please come in," he said and took a step back.

Lucy tried to follow but got stopped at the door. Ric frowned. "I was under the impression the girl was human."

Elijah let no emotion show on his face. "She was until very recently."

"In that case," he said, turning back to her, "come in, love."

She stepped into the apartment. Her eyes darted around the room, taking everything in as she tried to figure out what exactly was going on. Katherine sat on a chair to the side of the room stabbing herself repeatedly in the leg. Lucy's eyes widened in surprise. "Found Katherine. We can cross that off the list."

"Yes. Katerina and I have been having a marvelous time. It was so kind of you all to keep hold of her for me." Ric's unusual tone and inflection made him sound nothing like his usual self.

Lucy looked at Elijah. "What is this?"

"Traveling spell," her uncle answered. "One of my brother's favorites. Don't worry, he won't stay in there long. He's far too fond of his normal appearance to suffer so."

Her lips twitched as she tried not to smile at the scary hybrid.

RicKlaus walked around her, taking her measure. "She's very attractive." He looked past her to Elijah. "Are you certain your relationship isn't more...intimate?"

Lucy scrunched her nose in disgust at the idea and Elijah scowled. "She is my niece, Niklaus. Please show a little decorum."

"Is she though? I don't recall any of us having children." Klaus smirked.

"Her father attempted to save my life once. We became friends. I've known her since she was an infant. You know this. I explained it to you."

Klaus shrugged as if it didn't matter and stood in front of her. It was so weird to be looking at Ric but know it wasn't him. This was going to give her a headache. He leaned forward to look into her eyes. "You're just going to do everything I say, aren't you love?"

She blinked at him. "Nope. I'm going to do three things for you. No more. That was the deal."

He frowned and glanced at Elijah. "Vervain," the older brother explained. "I insisted she drink it before we came. She will continue to do so as long as you are in town. I don't trust you."

"You wound me, Elijah. I won't hurt your pet." He turned his attention back to Lucy. "So, tell me, love, what do you know about my doppelganger?"

She shifted her gaze from him to Katherine. "Which one?"

"I know all about Katerina, love. Tell me about the other one."

She briefly thought about asking if this counted as one of the favors but decided not to push her luck. "Elena Gilbert. She's a kid. 17 maybe?" Lucy shrugs. "I don't care enough to keep track. She's got a martyr complex. Thinks she's helping but she just makes everything worse. She also has a lot of people that are incredibly loyal to her. Ric being one of them. They aren't going to just hand her over."

"And if I told you to hand her over? What if I made that one of your tasks?" His gaze narrowed as he studied her.

She shrugged. "I don't particularly care for Elena, but I'm not handing a kid over so you can kill her. I'd rather do it myself."

That earned her a lopsided grin. "And if I told you it's either you or her?"

Lucy and RicKlaus stared each other down as he waited for her answer. Despite Caroline saying she was done with Elena, Lucy knew the blonde would never forgive her if she handed over her former bestie. She didn't want to hurt Care.

Finally, Elijah stepped forward, placing himself as well as he could between his brother and his niece. "I said within reason, Niklaus. And I believe I specified death and sex were not within reason."

The hybrid smirked. "Just testing her limits, brother. And yours. Task number one, you tell no one about me. Tell no one you've met me, or that I currently inhabit your friend here. Understood?"

"Understood."

Elijah wrapped a hand around her arm and led her from the apartment. They'd barely made it to the car when Lucy's phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and sighed when she saw Stefan's name. He was undoubtedly calling to lecture her about keeping things from his brother. "If I don't get this, he'll just keep calling," she explained to Elijah before she answered. "Hello, Stefan."

"What are you doing, Lucy?"

"Like at this particular moment or in general?"

He laughed in spite of himself. "I meant the two of you waking Elijah, in particular," annoyance is heavy in his voice. He must have an audience.

She thought about what to say for a moment before answering not knowing if anyone else would be able to hear or not. "If I had Damon half-dead in my basement and you had the opportunity to rescue him would you leave him there?"

"Yes, because if he pissed you off that bad, he deserves it," he said with a chuckle. "But I see your point. They're only trying to protect Elena."

"Incapacitating Elijah is not going to help them do that. You know that."

"Klaus is here. We're going to the dance tonight. You should come and chaperone with Damon. Show everyone you're not the enemy."

A twinge of pain shot through her at the mention of her boyfriend's name. "I'm not sure Damon wants me to do that."

"What? Why not?"

Lucy sighed. "Haven't you talked to him?"

"Not a peep. Should I be worried?" There was genuine concern in his voice.

"Nope. I'm sure he decided a drink was more important. We'll see you at the dance." She slid her phone back into her pocket and looked over the top of the car to Elijah. "Can you drop me at the Grill?"

***

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief when she walked into the Grill and spotted Damon at the bar. She'd feared he'd run off and leave her there. She stepped up beside him. "Can I sit here or are you still mad at me?"

He motioned to the bartender for another drink. When he placed it in front of the empty stool, she took that as her cue to sit. She sipped at the amber liquid. "I thought you were going to talk to Stefan?"

He shrugged. "Cult Elena was still around so I decided not to." He still hadn't looked at her.

She stood from her seat. "I'll leave you alone. Stefan wants you to chaperone the dance tonight. He says Klaus is here. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about everything sooner."

He didn't respond and she swallowed the lump in her throat. "I'll see you later." Her voice was quiet, little more than a whisper. She left and wrapped her arms around her middle as she walked down the street and struggled not to cry. Maybe Elijah would let her crash on his couch. Staying at the boarding house seemed like more awkwardness than she wanted to deal with right now.

Damon's car pulled up along the curb in front of her. He leaned out the window and looked at her. "Get in."

She thought about it for a moment then decided she'd rather walk. Damon groaned when she passed by him.

The car door shut behind her and a hand grasped her waist. He turned her to face him. "Please get in the car, Lucy."

She wiped at her eyes. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want to lose you. I know this is a lot. That this is more hassle than I'm worth. So if you're going to leave me just get it over with. I don't have the strength to wonder."

He cradled her face in his hands. "You're wrong. You are worth everything. I'm not going anywhere even if it means dealing with an Original hybrid. I'm just scared. Terrified that I'm going to lose you. I haven't been afraid of losing anything for a long time, but you scare the shit out of me."

She looked at him a beat longer, the tears flowing from her eyes now tears of happiness. "So I get to keep you?"

He grinned and kissed her lips. "Yeah, baby. I'm all yours."