The exchange went flawlessly. At least Lucy assumed it did as she'd been banned from getting anywhere near town while it went down by both Salvatores. Damon had relaxed considerably now that Isobel had left though.

Founder's Day was the next day and Damon dragged Lucy out of the house and to the town square where they were preparing for the parade. They roamed, taking time to poke fun at the floats and costumes. "Aw, look at Stefan," Lucy said with a grin as her gaze fell on the younger brother.

Damon dragged her over to the other man. "Wow. This brings back memories. Looking good, Stef. Where's Caroline?"

Stefan shrugged. "I haven't seen her yet." His eyes went wide and the other two turned to see what captured his attention.

Elena entered the square looking like she'd stepped out of the mid-1800s. Damon arched his brows. "Holy shit. I thought she looked like Katherine before."

Seeing Elena dressed like this, it was easy for Lucy to see how the girl's ancestor had caught the brothers' eyes to begin with. She was stunning. When Elena noticed the gazes on her, she curtsied and gave a preening smile. Ugh. There it was. Moving on.

Lucy looked away only for Caroline to catch her eye. She nudged Stefan with an elbow to get his attention before gesturing to the blonde. "Close your mouth, Salvatore. You're drooling."

"Shut it, Williams," Stefan muttered before moving over to greet his girlfriend.

Caroline glanced at Lucy before waving and giving her a big smile. Lucy waved back and Damon draped an arm across her shoulders. They found a place to watch the parade, Lucy tucked into Damon's side. Just as the float passed with their friends, Damon was distracted. When he stepped away, Lucy trailed him with her gaze, rolling her eyes when she saw Bonnie.

"What do you want, Damon?" the witch asked. There was a lot of snark in her voice for someone that had never done anything to her.

"I just wanted to say thank you." When Bonnie didn't say anything, he continued. "That device could have killed me so thank you. I'll owe you one."

Lucy watched the girl for any signs of guilt or deception but saw nothing. She still didn't trust the Bennett witch. Lucy took Damon's hand in her own and pulled him away. "I need a drink."

They were on their second glass before Damon asked her what was wrong.

"I don't trust the witch."

He scoffed. "She's just a kid."

"Yeah, that's my point, Day. She's a kid that thinks she knows everything when she knows nothing. And she has magic in her blood." She sipped her drink. "She's dangerous."

"I think you're giving her too much credit."

Lucy shrugged and hoped like hell he was right.

***

The brothers, Lucy, and Caroline were searching for the perfect place to watch the fireworks when Anna appeared. Damon stepped forward to confront her, moving so Lucy was behind him. She grasped onto Caroline's hand and the blonde squeezed back to offer her silent support.

"You still around?" Damon asked.

"We've got a problem," Anna said and Stefan moved up to stand beside his brother.

"What kind of problem?" the younger Salvatore asked.

"Look, after you guys cleared out our coven, we rebuilt it. We've been around a long time and mom never did like doing anything for herself that she didn't have to. John Gilbert killed my mother and the coven wants revenge on the council." Anna kept glancing around as she explained.

Damon huffed. "How is that a problem?"

"Because they're going to take their revenge on the whole town. Tonight."

The brothers exchanged a look. "When?" Stefan asked.

"When the fireworks start." With that the female vampire ran off, probably to find Jeremy.

Damon turned and grabbed Lucy by the arms. "You have to get out of here. Go home. We'll meet you there."

Stefan pulled Caroline into a hug and kissed the top of her head. "Go with Lucy."

She pushed away and shook her head. "I can't. My friends. I have to save them."

"Caroline—"

"No," she said, cutting him off. "I'm not going anywhere until I find them."

Lucy grabbed her friend's hand and started pulling her away. "I'll take her to the Grill and see who we can find there or along the way. You guys see who else you can find. Keep an eye out for Elena. Ric, too."

"Yeah," Damon agreed after a moment's hesitation. "Hurry up and get out of here."

The girls arrived at the Grill to find only Tyler and Matt in residence. Tyler appeared to be having an argument with his father. Nothing new about that. They arrived at the little group just as the mayor handed over his keys to his son. "Listen to your dad. Get out of here. Take Caroline with you."

"But—" Caroline started to argue.

Lucy shook her head. "I'll be fine. And I'll keep an eye out for Elena and Bonnie. Just go."

The mayor eyed Lucy obviously trying to figure out what she knew. She shrugged and ran off before he could ask any questions.

There were so many people gathered in the square that it made it difficult for her to find anyone she knew. Halfway through the mayor's pre-fireworks speech, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the crowd.

"What the hell are you still doing here, Luce?" Stefan asked. "Where's Caroline?"

"I sent her home with Tyler and Matt."

Some of the tension left his shoulders. "You should have gone with her."

She tugged her arm from his grip. "I'm hardly a defenseless female." To prove her point, she pulled a stake from seemingly nowhere.

Stefan smirked before suddenly dropping with a shout as he grabbed his head.

Lucy was immediately curling around him, protecting him. "What's wrong?"

He continued to groan, unable to talk.

She tried to get him to his feet but it was like lifting dead weight. She simply wasn't strong enough.

A sheriff's deputy moved in their direction only to be intercepted by Ric. "I got this one. There's one over there. Go on."

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Come on," Ric said as he helped her get their friend to his feet. There was a hidden stairwell a short distance away where they took refuge.

"Where's Damon?" she asked as soon as they had Stefan somewhat secured.

Ric shook his head. "I don't know. I haven't seen him since this all started. They're rounding up the vampires and taking them to the old Gilbert building."

Lucy ran up the stairs, avoiding Ric's hand as he reached for her. She didn't hesitate to run into the building. The smell of gasoline was heavy in the air. "John Gilbert," she yelled as soon as she entered. "Get out here, you fuck."

He emerged from the basement tossing something down the stairs before turning to face Lucy. He kept his gaze locked on hers as he pulled a lighter from his pocket and lit it before dropping it. Flames flared and Lucy launched herself at him. He slammed into the door behind him with a grunt.

When she tried to get past him to go down the steps, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her toward the door. She stomped on his foot and elbowed his ribs. He briefly lost his grip only to find it again before she could escape him. "I'm trying to help you. Quit fighting me. He's not worth dying over."

She let him get her into the cool night air then turned and decked him. "Fuck you."

He worked his jaw and wiped the blood from his lip with a grimace. "Get her out of here."

Two deputies grabbed her arms and dragged her across the street to where Stefan and Elena stood with Ric. "Get off me," Lucy demanded jerking her arms out of their hold.

They shoved her forward before heading back to take up position in front of the building.

"They're burning," she said to Stefan, worry heavy in her gut. As much as she hoped Damon wasn't in there, she knew he was. He would have found her by now otherwise.

Stefan looked from her to the building behind her with wide eyes before turning to Elena. "You know the building. Is there another entrance?"

"Utility door on the side," she answered with a gesture.

Stefan ran in that direction with Lucy right on his heels. John Gilbert gave them a little salute as they passed probably thinking they'd die along with Damon. Asshole.

"You can't go in there," a voice said just as Stefan opened the door.

They turned to find Bonnie behind them. "You'll die."

Stefan ignored her and rushed in.

"Feeling guilty, Bonnie?" Lucy asked. "You should. If they die, so do you." She didn't wait for a reaction before following the vampire.

He stood at the top of the stairs staring at the flames.

"Damon!" Lucy yelled.

"Lucy?" a faint call came back. "Get out of here."

"Fuck you," she moved forward and Stefan grabbed her shoulder to pull her back. "Let go of me, Stefan. He's going to die."

"So will you," he shouted.

Suddenly, the flames died down enough that they could use the stairs. Stefan headed down with Lucy right behind him. "Damn it, Lucy," Stefan grumbled. "Just be careful. I don't have time to save you both."

Lucy's eyes teared up and her lungs burned from the smoke but she wasn't leaving until Damon was safe. Stefan went to rescue his brother and Lucy was distracted by a groan. She turned to find Anna trying her best not to get burned. Lucy hesitated only a moment before helping the female vampire to her feet and toward the stairs. The brothers beat her to them.

"What the hell are you doing here, Lucy?" Damon asked. "Are you insane?"

"Yes." She gestured with her chin for Stefan to get the fuck out of the fire. He vamp sped up the stairs and the girls followed behind. The flames returned as they reached the top stair and they had to leap to safety. Lucy laid on the ground and rolled to her back. "Fucking witch."

Anna laid beside her. Suddenly, they were both grabbed and hauled out of the building. They found Damon waiting for them as he leaned against a wall. He shoved himself off and grabbed Lucy as Stefan released her and pulled her into his chest. "Stupid human."

"Stupid vampire." She coughed as she said the words. Her gaze found the witch standing at the end of the alley. They stared at one another for a beat before Bonnie turned and walked away.

"You need some blood," Damon said, worry heavy in his voice.

"So do you," Lucy responded.

Stefan huffed a laugh before biting into his wrist. "Here, Luce."

She took a couple of swallows, nodding when she felt her lungs clear up.

"That's twice you saved me," Anna said and they turned to face her.

"Twice?" Lucy asked.

"John Gilbert was going to stake me when you yelled at him. He left me to burn instead. Then you got me out of there. Thank you."

"You can thank me by not rebuilding the coven. You are a seriously bad judge of character."

That surprised a laugh out of Anna. "Done." She nodded before speeding away.

"Let's go home," Damon said after kissing Lucy's head.

"I'm going to find Caroline," Stefan said. "Can you get him to the car?"

She nodded. "Give me the keys, Salvatore. Wait at the end of the alley. I'll come pick you up."

He passed the keys over and did as she said. Once she picked him up, nothing was said all the way to the boarding house though the tension sat heavy between them. Damon's jaw was set and he kept shifting in the seat. He was furious but she really didn't give a shit as long as he was alive.

When they got home, he left her behind as he sped inside. She took her time joining him. He was just emerging from the basement where they stored the blood bags looking much healthier when she walked in. He stared at her a beat before licking his lips and heading to the bar. He poured himself a drink and kept his back to her as she walked into the room.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he finally said before turning to face her.

She remained silent knowing he didn't really expect an answer anyway. He needed to get it out of his system then they could move on to the next bit of drama.

"I realize you think you're invincible but you aren't. You're human, Lucy." He sat the glass down and stepped toward her, his volume increasing as he did. Someone else might have been scared of him at that moment but she knew he wouldn't hurt her. If for no other reason than her uncle scared the shit out of him.

"And it wasn't just the fire. It was the whole council. Never mind the deputies and that deceitful little witch. And then you stopped to help that vampire bitch." By this point he was standing right in front of her. His eyes were hard and his muscles taut. His hands were fisted by his sides. "What the fuck am I supposed to do if I lose you Lucy? Did you even think about that? What was I supposed to do if I lived and you died? Why would you risk your life for me?"

The words slipped from her lips without thought. It was an automatic response to his tirade. And now that they were out, there was no taking them back.

"Because I love you, you idiot."