The carnival had been about as exciting as Lucy anticipated. There was only so much fun to have at an event filled by teenagers. The only thing Damon had discovered about Mason Lockwood was that he was stronger than he should have been. Lucy suggested they could be werewolves only to have Damon inform her they didn't exist. She had rolled her eyes and made him take her on the Ferris wheel. When they returned home, she'd gotten to see Caroline only long enough to give her the daylight ring Elijah had sent for her.

It was the next morning and Lucy sat on the couch in the living room moving a little to the music on the stereo while she nibbled at a bag of cotton candy. Stefan walked into the room and stopped to observe her with an amused expression on his face. "Just how much cotton candy did you buy last night? That's like the third bag I've seen you with."

Lucy grinned and stuck her blue tongue out at him. "A lot."

They both frowned when a knock sounded at the front door. Stefan went to answer it while Lucy came to hover behind him. She scowled when her gaze fell on Bonnie and Elena. She supposed she'd have to get used to them being around if Caroline was going to live with them. She sighed.

"What can we do for you ladies?" Stefan asked sounding welcoming though Lucy could see the muscle twitching in his jaw.

"We wanted to check on Caroline." Elena stepped into the house without waiting for an invitation and Bonnie came in behind her.

Stefan and Lucy exchanged a glance as he shut the door. He licked his lips. "I'm not sure she's up to that right now."

Neither of them were certain what she'd told her friends. She was currently resting in Stefan's bed and they didn't want to disturb her unless necessary.

Elena's face twisted to one of mock sympathy as she rested her hand on his arm. "She told us what happened, Stefan. This must be so hard for you."

"Yes, I'm sure the vampire is extremely upset to have a vampire girlfriend. How horrible," Lucy said, earning glares from both girls. "I thought we talked about you calling before you come over."

Elena scowled. "I've never had to call before visiting Caroline before. I don't intend to start now."

Lucy simply hummed without saying anything further. They might have to start locking the door. Damon wouldn't be happy.

The door opened drawing their attention. Ric paused as he looked over the small gathering. His eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Where's Damon?"

"He went to get gas in the car. He should be back any moment." Lucy gestured to the other room. "Make yourself comfortable. You know where everything is."

"He just walked in. Why didn't you lecture him?" Elena asked as the teacher went into the living room.

Stefan arched a brow. "He was invited."

The corner of Lucy's mouth kicked up in a grin.

"What's going on?" Caroline asked as she came down the stairs. As she caught sight of her friends, she sped over to them. She pulled Elena into a hug and the girl awkwardly patted the blonde's back. When she went to hug Bonnie, the witch stepped back with a tight smile. Caroline's excited grin immediately fell.

"Elena wanted me to make you a daylight ring," Bonnie said, pulling a large book from the bag draped over her shoulder. "I'm willing to do it, but you should know that I will control the magic connected to the ring. If you hurt anyone, even in the smallest measure, I will deactivate it."

A tear slipped from Caroline's eye and she quickly wiped it away. Stefan moved up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. She rested her hands on his. "I'm okay." Her voice was quiet and a little bit broken.

Gods, Lucy hated this witch. "Thanks for that wonderful, selfless offer, but she already has one. No strings attached."

"Where did she get that?" Bonnie asked, her tone short, angry.

"Me." Lucy walked over and opened the front door. "We'd invite you to stay but it's not really the best time. And you're pissing me off."

"Look, we're not here to see you," Elena snapped. "Can we just see Caroline alone for a minute?"

Stefan barked out a laugh. "She's a newly transitioned vampire. No, you can't."

"Don't you trust her?" Bonnie asks with an ugly expression. "If you didn't think she could control herself, why did you turn her?"

"It's not their fault she's a vampire. It's yours."

Bonnie scoffed.

Lucy left the door open but stepped closer to the witch. She stopped when the girl took a step back. "The only way to save Caroline after the car accident was to give her blood. You know, the car accident you caused by lying and deceiving people who trusted you. Then she died with that blood in her system. Personally, I'm just happy she's here, but that's just me, I guess."

The witch looked from Lucy to Caroline and back again before she hurried out the door. Lucy shifted her attention to Elena. "You should go with her."

For once, Elena did as told and followed after her friend, slamming the door behind her. Lucy turned and rocked on her feet as her blonde bestie threw herself into her arms. Caroline held onto her tightly and cried, her whole body shaking with the action. Truth be told, Lucy had been expecting this. The other girl was overdue for a breakdown.

Caroline just held her tightly as Lucy made comforting noises and rubbed a hand up and down her back. When she caught Stefan's eye, he smiled and mouthed 'thank you'. Lucy answered with a nod.

Damon walked in a couple of minutes later and froze as he took in the scene. He held a tray with to-go coffee in one hand. He kept his eyes on the women as he spoke to his brother. "Is there a reason your newly turned girlfriend has her face buried in my girlfriend's neck?"

Caroline pulled back and put her hands on Lucy's shoulders as she squealed in happiness. "Girlfriend? It's official? When did this happen?"

Lucy laughed at her friend's sudden change in mood. "Last night."

Damon looped his arm around Lucy's neck and pressed a kiss to her temple while subtly pulling her away from Caroline. "How's it going, blondie?"

Caroline shrugged. "I'll get there."

He nodded his head once. "Good."

"Ric's here," Lucy announced and suddenly found herself being pulled into the other room.

"Hello, Ric. Thank you for coming." Damon deposited her on one of the couches before passing out the coffees. There was one for everyone but him. At Lucy's questioning look, he said, "Drank mine on the way home."

He dropped into his spot next to Lucy while Stefan and Caroline cuddled in the large chair nearby.

"Okay. So why am I here?" Ric asked as he looked at all of them.

"We were hoping you could shed some light on the Lockwoods," Damon said.

"Why would I know anything about the Lockwoods?"

Lucy shook her head. "You wouldn't but Isobel might."

At Ric's confused look, Stefan piped up. "You said she had extensively researched this town. Did she mention any supernatural creatures other than vampires?"

Ric nodded slightly. "The lycanthrope."

"Like werewolves?" Caroline sounded slightly stunned.

"I told you," Lucy said, drawing out the middle word.

"No. Absolutely not," Damon denied. "Way too Lon Chaney."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "You are literally the personification of Nosferatu."

Damon frowned and nudged her side. "At least give me Bela Lugosi."

"But she's right, Damon. How do you know they don't exist?" Stefan asked.

"I've been on this planet for over 160 years and have never seen one. If they're real, where are they?"

Lucy smirked. "Living in the Lockwood mansion apparently."

"We were hoping Isobel's research might give us some answers as to what we're actually dealing with," Stefan told Ric.

He shrugged and sighed. "All of her research is still in her office at Duke since she's technically still a missing person."

Lucy found it odd that they hadn't cleaned out the woman's office but didn't find it worth mentioning. "Who's up for a road trip?"

***

In the end it was decided that Stefan and Caroline would remain behind while the rest of them went to Duke. Ric parked in front of the anthropology building and they were met by a grad student when they walked in.

"Alaric Saltzman. I called earlier."

"Oh, yes. Vanessa Monroe. Research assistant." Her gaze ran over the three of them, lingering on Damon. "Let me get Isobel's keys."

Her and Alaric exchanged some more conversation about Isobel that Lucy didn't really pay attention to until Vanessa finally unlocked Isobel's office. They walked into a large room and again Lucy was surprised that the area wasn't being used for something else by now. She wondered if Isobel had compelled them to keep her office open.

"Look around. I'll get the light," Vanessa said before leaving.

Damon and Lucy were looking through the papers and books on one of the shelves when Damon spoke up. "Where did she go?"

Lucy glanced toward the door to see the other woman walk in with a crossbow in hand. She shoved Damon to the side just in time for an arrow to embed itself in one of the books between them. After a stunned beat, Ric pushed Vanessa up against the wall with the crossbow shoved against her chest so she couldn't use it again.

Damon's jaw was tight as he yanked the arrow out of the book and looked it over before tossing it to the floor. Lucy drew the gun from the back holster she'd donned before they left the house. She pointed it at the now panicking woman. "See, I can shoot people, too."

Ric sighed. "Really, Lucy? I'm trying to calm her down."

"Calm her down? No one shot at her."

Damon's lips twitched as he pushed the gun down by the barrel. "Easy, kitten. Let's find out why she tried to kill me first, yeah?"

She huffed and put the gun away. "Talk," she said as she glared at Vanessa.

Ric backed off, taking the crossbow with him.

"I freaked, okay? Damon Salvatore died in 1864. I've read Isobel's research. I've seen pictures. You're supposed to be dead." She pointed at Damon.

"If you've read her research then you know exactly how it's possible," Ric said with a weak smile. "Surprise."

Once Vanessa's shock had worn off, she got to work helping them dig through the piles of research. Lucy flipped through some of the papers while the others gathered everything Isobel had on Mystic Falls. She paused when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out to find a message from Caroline.

Stefan wants me to kill bunnies ☹

A laugh burst from her and she handed the phone to Damon. He grinned and replied to the message. She glanced at the reply when he handed her phone back.

Tell him you're a vegetarian so you need to hunt humans instead

Lucy rolled her eyes and slipped her phone back into her pocket. "You can work on that with her when we get home."

"Just because she's your bestie."

"I can't find anything directly about werewolves in Mystic Falls, but I found this." Vanessa handed the journal she was looking at to Lucy.

The Curse of the Sun and the Moon. Lucy shrugged. "I already know about this but we'll take it with us."

Damon moved to stand behind her, glancing over her shoulder to see what she was looking at. "Know about what, sweetheart?"

"It's a curse that limits werewolves to the full moon and vampires to the night. It was placed by an ancient shaman because the supernatural creatures were terrorizing the humans. Elijah told me about it." Lucy frowned as she tried to remember all the details but they honestly hadn't talked about it that much.

"If werewolves were so prevalent, why haven't I met one?" Damon asked.

"Big war. Vampires hunted them almost to extinction," Lucy explained and Vanessa nodded. There must have been something in Isobel's files about it.

"Why?" Ric asked.

"Because werewolf bites are fatal to vampires." Lucy kept her eyes on her boyfriend as she spoke.

He stared at her for a long moment. "Oh."

"Believe me yet, zanzara?" Lucy asked.

He frowned, his brow furrowing with the gesture. "Did you just call me mosquito in Italian?"

Lucy simply grinned.