The plan to go vampire hunting failed spectacularly. There were far too many others around the town on high alert for them to search inconspicuously. As the entire point of the expedition was to keep the attention off the Salvatores, they decided to put off using the compass for a day or two.

Once the decision had been made, Damon draped his arm around Lucy's shoulders. "Well, we gave it a valiant effort. We should celebrate."

Lucy hummed in agreement as a smile teased her lips. "And how do you propose we do that?" she asked as if she didn't already know.

"Drinks at the Grill. My treat." He steered her toward the car.

"You're paying? Holy shit. It is a celebration."

"Cute." He opened the door for her before flashing to his own side.

"I miss Stefan," she said as they drove. Her head laid against the window enjoying the coolness of the glass.

Damon grunted and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. "Unfortunately, you won't be seeing much of him for awhile. Baby vampires take a lot of focus."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, it sucks. What about movie night?"

"We can still have them as long as you stay by me or Stef and Vicki's on the other side of the room." When she stayed quiet, he glanced at her from the side of his eye. He waited until he'd parked to break the silence. "What's up?"

She pursed her lips and shook her head. "Just thinking. Making a list in my head of everything that needs to be done. We should really restock the liquor. With a new vamp around we'll be going through more than usual."

"Good thinking, princess." He reached over and mussed the hair on top of her head.

"Damn it, Salvatore." She jerked away from him while he laughed then did her best to fix the damage he'd done. Jerk.

***

They were into their second game of pool when Damon received a call from his brother. "What do you mean she ran off?"

"That's a stupid question," Lucy murmured, earning a glare from her companion. She smiled sweetly and took her shot. She glanced at him over her shoulder when he hung up the phone. "So, baby vamp did a runner. Do we need to help?"

"No. She went home. Matt won't let Stefan in and Vicki's making it seem like he was holding her against her will or something." He tossed back the rest of his drink.

Lucy sighed and leaned against the table. "I can get in the house without permission but it won't exactly be inconspicuous. And then there's how I get her out of the house on my own after I knock her ass out with vervain."

"We'll keep that plan on the back burner. For now, Stef wants to see how it plays out. He's hoping Vicki will come back on her own when the hunger gets worse." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Now, get out of the way. It's my shot."

"That sounds like a horrible idea if I'm honest. Hope she doesn't end up eating her brother. That would be awkward." She shrugged and stepped away from the table so he could play. As she did, her eyes fell on the mayor and his wife. The mayor was leaving, but his wife's gaze kept finding Damon. "You have an admirer," she said in a low tone as he passed by her to take another shot.

He hummed and hooked a finger into her belt loop to tug her closer as a couple sat at one of the tables near them. He lowered his head to speak near her ear. "I'm going to go be friendly. See if I can learn anything. I don't think Zach is being as straight forward as he could be." He slipped his keys into her hand then stepped away.

She guessed it was kind of hard to flirt if they thought he was taken. She settled behind the wheel and wondered if he'd let her drive home. Roughly five minutes passed before her phone rang. "We have a problem," Stefan said when she answered.

"Hello to you, too, Stefan. What's the problem now?" They could really do with a couple of drama free weeks.

"Damon's not answering and Vicki's at the high school."

They were having some big thing there for Halloween. "Shit. I'll get him. We'll see you in a bit."

She decided to try calling Damon rather than going inside to fetch him. Hopefully he'd answer for her.

"Bit busy," was his to the point greeting.

"Emergency. We need to go." She hung up without waiting for a response. He couldn't argue if she didn't give him the chance.

The door beside her opened only a couple of minutes later. "Move."

She pouted but slid over the console and into the passenger seat without arguing. As soon as she pulled her legs onto her own side, he took her place.

"Where are we going?" he asked as he pulled out.

"Baby vamp's at the school."

"Shit." He smacked his palm against the steering wheel. "Next time Stefan wants to play babysitter remind me to talk him out of it."

When you reached the school the two of you split up once Damon made certain you were properly armed. Stefan was inside the school so Damon took the front while you moved around the back. The boys figured Vicki would stay where there were people but you needed to clear the area just in case.

"Damn creepy ass abandoned parking lot. It's Halloween and dark as hell. Why do I get myself into this shit?" Lucy just kept mumbling to herself as she looked around. It didn't escape her that her boys and the baby vamp weren't the only dangers lurking in the night.

Someone yelling Vicki's name caught her attention and she ran over to the row of buses. She got there just in time to see Elena hit the vampire with a board. What the fuck was that girl thinking? Vicki hit her and the teenager went flying into a pile of debris that had for some reason been left laying about.

Before Lucy could act, Stefan was there slamming the baby vamp against the front of a bus. She shoved him back and disappeared. Shit. Stefan looked around in confusion for a moment before his gaze fell on Elena holding her side. Oh good, she was bleeding in front of the vampires. "Go, get inside," he ordered. His eyes shifted to Lucy and he indicated the others with a tilt of his head.

She rolled her eyes but gave him a nod. "On it."

"Thanks." The word trailed behind him as he started looking under buses for Vicki.

Lucy followed the others, keeping her gaze moving around the lot as she went. Elena had just opened the door to go inside when the vampire appeared and tossed Jeremy aside. She grabbed Elena and bit into her. A second later, Lucy jammed her stake into the girl's chest. She gasped, pulling her teeth from her meal.

Elena stumbled backward as Vicki began to turn gray. Tears ran down her face and she turned to look at Jeremy. Lucy released the stake leaving it right where it was. No point in taking chances. Jeremy screamed Vicki's name and Stefan grabbed him to hold him back. Finally, the baby vamp fell to the ground, dead. Elena, who was now bleeding from two injuries, ordered Stefan to get her brother away from the scene.

"I got it," Lucy said as she pulled out her phone. Stefan gave her a nod before darting off with Jeremy. Elena lowered herself to the ground beside the corpse and Lucy rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. She was a little too desensitized to violence and death and she knew it. That's what came from a life amongst the supernatural. She didn't even give Damon a chance to say anything when he answered the phone. "Behind the school. By the buses."

She slipped her phone back into her pocket and Damon appeared two minutes later. He grasped her arms and looked her over. "You okay?"

She hummed in answer and gave a slight nod.

He moved over and looked down at the body before glancing at Elena. "We have this. You should go."

The teenager stood, an angry expression on her face. She looked past Damon to Lucy who had come to stand beside him. "This is your fault. You did this."

Lucy's brows rose. "Yeah, I did. To save your ass if you remember."

Elena stepped closer. "You don't even care. You're heartless."

"You mistake me for someone who cares about your opinion. I did what I had to do. There's no shame in protecting myself or others."

The slap was swift and unexpected. Lucy set her jaw and just stared at the girl in front of her.

"You need to leave," Damon told her. When Elena continued to simply stand there, he repeated himself. "You need to leave. Now."

"You okay?" he asked after Elena stumbled off into the dark.

Lucy huffed a laugh. "Of course, I am. It'd take a lot more than that to hurt me."

"Good." He handed her the keys. "Go get the car. I'll stay here."

***

Truth be told, Damon was a bit lazy when it came to body disposal. He wanted to bury Vicki in some shallow grave in the woods. The same woods frequently patrolled by law enforcement and the Council. Brilliant. Lucy convinced him that driving out to the middle of nowhere and burning the body before closing the grave was a better idea.

"Now she won't turn up just because we get a lot of rain or something."

"Yeah, yeah," Damon grumbled. He had gotten far dirtier than he'd wanted and was pouting because of it.

"Your brother is still at the teenager's house," Lucy said when they reached town. She'd been texting with the younger brother since they'd put the body in the trunk.

Damon grumbled again and changed direction to head to Elena's house. They arrived just in time to hear Stefan tell the girl that due to his diet, he couldn't be sure his compulsion would work on Jeremy. "I could do it," Damon volunteered with a shrug.

"You don't even know what she wants. Why are you offering?" Lucy said.

He tipped his head from side to side. "Okay. Elena, why do you want your brother compelled?"

"Jeremy. This is too much. I don't want him to remember. Make him think Vicki left town." Tears rimmed Elena's eyes and her bottom lip trembled.

Lucy leaned against one of the porch columns and shoved her hands in her pockets. "Don't do it. Compel him not to tell anyone. Help him deal with it a bit, but the rest..."

Both brothers studied her, their gaze flicking over to Elena and back to Lucy.

"If you erase everything about tonight from him, he will go looking for Vicki. He will always wonder what happened to her. A part of him will always know that something is wrong." She looked at the girl. "You can't just erase the parts of life you don't like. That's not how it works."

Another moment passed before Damon gave a swift nod. "I'll be back." He headed into the house to compel the kid.

Elena stomped over to her with her hands fisted at her sides. "What makes you think you have the right to dictate what happens in my family? It has nothing to do with you."

"What makes you think you have the right to dictate what happens to other people without their consent? You don't get to erase someone's memories because you decide it's for the best. You're a child, Elena. You have no idea how the real world works." Lucy shifted her weight and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I have no idea about the real world? My parents are dead. The same accident nearly killed me. That's as real as it gets." A tear escaped to run down Elena's cheek.

Lucy closed her eyes if only to keep from rolling them again. She was going to get a headache if she kept that up. Finally, she looked at the girl again. "I'm not going to argue with you, Elena. You do you and I'll keep talking sense into my boys."

"Your boys?" Her lip curled into a sneer. "You might have Damon wrapped around your little finger but not Stefan."

"Doesn't make him any less mine." Lucy's gaze darted over to Damon as he stepped out of the house. "They're my friends, my family, my people. Mine."

Damon's piercing gaze moved between the two women. "It's done. He remembers what happened but he's calmer. And he won't be talking."

"Let's go home," Lucy said as she started walking toward the car. Damon draped an arm around her shoulders as she passed by so he could walk with her. "Stefan, you want a ride?"

He hesitated but a moment before following.