A couple of weeks later, Lucy laid on the couch with her legs draped over Stefan's lap while she flipped through a magazine. Damon was at a council meeting and Lucy was enjoying hanging out with the other Salvatore. "Did I tell you that Elena's dating Matt Donovan again?" Stefan asked as he flipped through the channels on the TV.

She folded down her magazine to look at him. "Poor kid."

He hummed in agreement. "But it makes things easier for us. The quarterback is nice and boring."

"Good. The less trouble the better."

"We have a problem," Damon announced as he walked in the front door.

Lucy tossed her magazine onto the coffee table. "Did you hover outside and wait for the perfect cue to enter?"

He frowned. "What? No. Listen, John Gilbert's in town."

She sat up and glanced at Stefan who shrugged. "And who is John Gilbert?"

"Elena's uncle and town council member. He managed to convince the rest of the council that their vampire problem isn't over."

"Is he right?" she asked.

Damon sighed as he dropped into one of the chairs. "I don't know. They found out about the blood bank robberies. That's me so no worries there but he mentioned several missing people. That is not me and it certainly wasn't Stefan."

"Damn it." Stefan slumped back in the sofa. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to start with going to the Founder's Day kickoff party tonight. I want to talk to John Gilbert again. There's something about him I just don't like," Damon answered.

"Stupid Gilberts. Guess I better find a dress."

***

Lucy opted for her simple little black dress while the brothers wore matching black suits with black shirts. She walked between the two of them, her arms looped in theirs. The party was at the Founder's Hall which was a public building so no invitation was needed for the boys to enter. They stopped just inside the door to look around.

"I'm going to go find Caroline," Stefan said before quickly disappearing in the crowd.

Before Lucy could even think of following his example, Damon shifted them so he now held her hand. "You're not going anywhere. I need you to protect me from clingy teenagers."

She smirked but didn't say anything. Instead, she simply squeezed his hand in response. Who would have thought the big bad vampire would be afraid of the teenagers. "Lead the way then, Mr. Salvatore."

His smirk mirrored hers as he directed her to the bar to get them both a drink. Damon leaned in. "I see Liz. Let's go say hello."

She didn't fight him but pressed against his side and turned her head so she wouldn't be overheard. "Would that be Liz Forbes that questioned me about Vicki Donovan?"

"You shouldn't hold that against her. She's good people."

Lucy snorted a laugh. "Yeah, except for the part where she'd kill you if she knew the real you."

Damon shot her a look as they stepped into the room where the Sheriff stood alone. He released Lucy's hand and shuffled sideways to put more distance between them. Liz looked awkward and uncomfortable. "I usually prefer a woman in uniform, but I must say I love this look on you. You look smashing," Damon flirted.

Lucy did her best to swallow her annoyance and keep a blank face. He didn't belong to her. Not really.

"Thank you, Damon. That's sweet of you." She turned her attention to Lucy. "It's Lucy, right?"

"That's me."

Liz's gaze moved between the two people in front of her. "Are you two..."

Damon draped an arm over Lucy's shoulders and pulled her into his side. "Just friends. Well, best friends."

Lucy lightly elbowed his side. "Damon, don't lie to the woman. We're so much more than friends."

He looked at her, something flashing deep in his eyes as his smile slipped slightly.

She turned back to Liz. "We're roommates. I live at the boarding house with him and Stefan."

"Well, you must be close then." She gestured toward Lucy's neck. "How are you doing?"

Lucy laid her hand against the scar as if self-conscious of it. "Fine. It was a lot at first but Damon helped me through it."

Liz gave a soft smile that looked almost sincere. "Good."

Lucy stepped away from Damon. "There's a lot of people in here. I'm going to step out and get some air. Excuse me."

His hand darted out to grasp her arm before she could leave. "I'll go with you." He nodded goodbye to the Sheriff before taking Lucy's hand again.

She shook her head but let him steer her through the crowd. He led her up the stairs and out onto a balcony that was empty of anyone else. Lucy breathed a sigh of relief.

"You okay?" he asked as he ran his gaze over her.

"Fine. I just don't like people." She shrugged. "Give me five minutes and I'll be good to go."

"Oh, we have company," Damon hissed under his breath just before a man stepped outside to join them. Damon's back was turned to him but Lucy blatantly looked him over.

"Damon, right?" the man said.

Damon turned and gave him a fake smile. "John. I didn't get to introduce myself earlier."

"Yes, that's a shame." John's attention turned to Lucy. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure."

"Lucy Williams." She held out her hand and he shook it with a tight smile.

"John Gilbert. I don't suppose you'd give Damon and I a moment?"

Damon clutched her hand again. "You can speak in front of her. She's in the know, so to speak."

The smile fell completely. "Does Liz know?"

"It's a long story. I'm sure if you ask nicely, she'll explain it to you."

Lucy nudged Damon. "I was attacked. Damon and the sheriff saved me. See not so long."

"I'm sorry that happened to you." He looked from her to Damon. "I guess I don't have to convince you that this vampire problem is real then, do I? It has the potential to be a real bloodbath."

"I wouldn't overreact. We don't know what we're dealing with yet." Damon pulled Lucy closer as John closed the distance between them.

"Oh, I don't know. I think we're looking at 1864 all over again. Vampires running amok. We'll have to hunt them down and throw them in the church and burn them."

God, this guy was an asshole.

"That is the story," Damon said, tightening his grip on her hand.

"That's part of it. Seems there was a tomb under the church where the vampires hid. But you would know that because you're the one that let them out." John looked very proud of himself and Lucy had a burning desire to reach out and smack the smug smile from his lips.

"We let one out and burned the rest," she corrected.

He licked his lips. "So you helped. Interesting."

"Why are we discussing this?" Damon asked. He pulled Lucy back and shifted so she was partially behind him.

"Thought we'd get the introductions out of the way."

"I could rip your throat out. Though you're probably on vervain."

"Why don't you take a bite and find out."

Damon studied the other man for a moment. "You're not worth my time."

He led Lucy past John making sure to stay between the two of them. Just before they entered the hall, Damon dropped her hand and flashed back to John. With a twist of his hands, Damon broke the Gilbert's neck before pushing him over the edge of the balcony.

"Damon," Lucy hissed.

He looked at her and shrugged. "He was pissing me off."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head before holding out her hand for him to take.

They found Stefan dancing with Caroline. Damon tapped on his brother's shoulder. "Can I cut in?"

"Um, sure." Stefan's brow furrowed in confusion. He offered a hand to Lucy. "Shall we?"

They'd taken approximately two steps before Lucy spoke up. "Damon killed John Gilbert." She kept her voice low so only a vampire would be able to hear.

Stefan stumbled before catching himself. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Why?" Anger laced his words. Lucy couldn't blame him. All he knew was Damon was putting them at risk of being caught.

"He knew about the two of you. And he was being a real asshole about it. He would have outed you, no question," she explained.

"Shit. Okay. We'll just have to deal with it." Stefan passed her back to Damon and reclaimed his girlfriend.

Damon led Lucy to the side of the dance floor.

"How much longer do we have to stay?" she asked.

"We should wait a while. We don't want to be remembered for ducking out early when he's found." There was a pause before he said the last word and Lucy frowned.

"What's the matter?"

Damon grasped her chin and turned her head so she could see the other side of the room. The other side of the room where John Gilbert stood straightening his suit jacket. What the hell?

"Damon, that's..." she trailed off uncertain what to say.

"Yeah." He sounded just as lost as she did.

The mayor calling for quiet caught their attention though they kept the man who should be a corpse directly in their line of sight. When he was brought up to ring the charter bell, Stefan appeared beside them.

"I thought he was dead."

"He was," Damon said.

"Not possible," Stefan argued.

"Wait." Lucy tugged on Damon's sleeve. "That ugly ring he's got on. Alaric wears one just like it."

She pushed through the crowd to find the teacher. Fortunately, she'd caught a glimpse of him as the crowd gathered to listen to the mayor. She stood on one side of him and Damon stood on the other. "Where'd you get that ring?"

Alaric frowned. "My ring? Why do you want to know?"

"Because John Gilbert is wearing one just like it." Damon dropped his voice before adding, "And he came back to life five minutes ago."

The teacher looked at the ring in question. "I got it from Isobel. My wife."

"The wife who gave birth to Elena, John Gilbert's niece. That's too big a coincidence for me. What do you know about it?" Damon asked.

Alaric shook his head. "Not much. She gave it to me and told me to never take it off. Said it would protect me from the things in the dark. Do you think he knew Isobel?"

"I think he knows a lot of things." Damon was so angry.

Lucy moved back to his side and took his hand again. He immediately shook it off as he watched John Gilbert head for the front door. "Stay here."

She blinked as Ric and Damon followed him. Her gaze caught Stefan's where he stood with Caroline. He lifted his brow in question. She shook her head and hurried after the two idiots. Damon couldn't kill John again. He'd just come back.

She walked outside to find the three men talking a short distance away. She hovered near the porch where she could watch while keeping her distance. When John walked away toward the parking lot. She joined the other two men.

"How'd it go?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," Damon answered. "I have even more questions than I did before."

"You and me both," Alaric said.