Archive of Our Own

"I can't deal with you right now, John," she told him with her head still in the freezer. "Not tonight."

"But we've got so much to tell you–"

"Okay, you know what?" Elena interrupted fiercely. The anger in her voice made Jenna turn around. "You lost privileges on telling me what to do a long time ago and in no way do you have a right to torment Jenna like you've been doing the last few days. This isn't your call and I don't want you to be a part of it. You've ruined enough for all of us."

Jenna glanced from one person to the other, wondering what the hell was going on. Elena looked livid and John… John had his same obnoxious expression. Why Jenna had ever deigned to sleep with him she would never know.

"But neither is it yours," John informed Elena evenly, taking a few steps forward into the kitchen as Elena slid off the chair she'd been sitting on. "This isn't just about you–"

"It it's not about me, then who is it about?" Elena snapped, looking angrier than Jenna could remember ever seeing her. 

"There's the Council for one thing–"

"I don't care about the Council right now," Elena interrupted sharply. "You weren't there tonight. A whole roomful of people almost died at the Grill because one warlock wanted me, including the most important people in my life."

Jenna missed what was said next as her brain tried to process the implications of Elena's statement. "A warlock wanted you for what?" That implied magic. But magic wasn't real, was it?

Elena and John glanced at her, looking as though they'd both forgotten she was there.

"It's a long story," Elena relented. "And I'll tell you everything once Alaric and Stefan are here."

"Do you really think she can handle it?" John retaliated. "It's dangerous for her to know."

"And it's dangerous for her not to know!" Elena retorted. "What part of 'she could have died tonight' do you not understand?"

"The part where you all seem to have her best interests at heart."

"Funny you should say that since you're the one dropping hints about my dead wife," Alaric's voice commented from the doorway. Jenna glanced over at him, noting the cold glare he was leveling at John. Apparently, everyone was mad at John tonight. It was a regular party.

"Would somebody mind telling me what the hell is going on here?" Jenna spoke up from the corner, raising her voice to be heard over the sudden din. "If you're all going to argue in my kitchen, I want answers. Now."

Elena and Alaric traded glances as Elena ran a hand through her hair again. "Stefan should be here soon."

"I fail to see why a seventeen-year-old should be involved in whatever this is," Jenna informed the room at large, folding her arms over her chest. "Another one," she amended, glancing at Elena.

"Because he can help show you things," Elena answered. "And he can tell you things I can't."

"Is he bringing Damon?" John asked silkily.

"Damon's at home with Katherine," Stefan answered as he walked into the kitchen. Alaric moved closer to Jenna to give him room. Jenna refrained from doing the childish thing – moving away from him – and instead focused on her niece.

"Show me what?" she questioned tersely.

"Jenna." Elena sighed, glancing to Stefan this time. "This is going to sound really strange, but… do you believe in vampires?"

Jenna stared at her niece incredulously. Here they were, about to have an important conversation, and Elena was asking about vampires? "No I don't," she responded, giving Elena a pointed look. "They're not real."

"Actually… they are."

"You really expect me to believe that?"

"That's why Stefan's here. To show you."

Stefan's eyes flicked from Jenna to Elena. "You're sure?"

"It's too dangerous for her not to know," Elena told him with a nod.

Jenna's confusion was still written all over her face as she looked from one to the other. "Show me what?"

"I'm not a seventeen-year-old, Jenna," Stefan answered, turning to face her. "Damon and I are over a hundred years old."

As Jenna watched, his face began to change.

"We aren't descendants of the original Salvatore family. We are the original Salvatore brothers."

His eyes turned red and veins popped out under them. Jenna yelped and shot backwards until she hit the kitchen sink, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"Damon and I are vampires and have been for over a hundred and forty-five years."

Jenna didn't know what to say to that. Maybe it was a good thing they were playing show and tell. She wouldn't have believed it otherwise. Vampires. Real, live vampires. In her kitchen. The revelation brought with it memories, thoughts of all the stories her sister had once told her. Tears threatened her composure again, but she forced them back.

"She can't handle this–"

"This isn't your call, John," Elena interrupted. "She needs to know. What good are we to her if she can't trust us?"

At least those words Jenna could get behind. She may not have fully understood what was being explained to her, but she could understand trust. She took a couple of deep breaths and voiced something she wanted answered first:

"Why didn't you tell me before this?"

"We wanted to protect you," Elena answered.

"Protect me?" Jenna spat. "Elena, I'm your legal guardian. I'm the one who's supposed to be protecting you! I can't do that if I don’t know what's going on!" She shook her head, meeting Elena's gaze with tears of anger and betrayal. "I'm the one looking after you."

Elena pursed her lips. "It's just that there's so much going on, so much to explain. Where do I even start?"

"Start with Isobel," Jenna suggested firmly, returning her arms to their place over her chest. Stefan moved to place a hand on Elena's shoulder and Jenna half-wished she and Alaric were on good enough terms for him to do that to her. She missed him, missed his comforting presence, even though he was standing not five feet away from her.

"You really are going all out, aren't you, Elena?" John spoke up.

"Okay, you know what?" Alaric cut him off, taking a couple of threatening steps towards John and resting a hand on the countertop. Jenna noticed the ring she'd gotten used to seeing on his finger was missing and wondered vaguely where it was. "I am tired of you trying to control the rest of us, especially in regards to Isobel. Why don't we make this simple? You shut up about all of this and I won't let Damon rip your throat out."

Jenna blinked at him in shock. Apparently he was angrier with John than she'd imagined.

John's chin lifted a few inches in defiance. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe it's better this way? Or maybe you should've told her earlier, so this wouldn't have happened."

Alaric snapped. Pulling his arm back, he put his considerable strength into punching John straight to the floor. Jenna's jaw dropped. She'd never seen Alaric lose control like that.

"You have no right to talk about what's better and what isn't," Alaric snarled as John slowly got to his feet again. Jenna could hear the pain in his voice at it made some of her anger at him dissipate. "Not after what you've done."

Stefan moved protectively in front of Elena. John barely glanced at him, one hand over the spot on his jaw where Alaric had hit him.

Whatever Alaric meant seemed to have an effect on John. Jenna couldn't tell what was passing between them as John glanced first at Stefan and then to Alaric. He gave one short nod and left the room.

"Now that he's out of the way," Alaric began, turning back to face Elena and Jenna, "Isobel."

Jenna noticed the way his fingers gripped the counter so hard they were turning white.

Elena nodded. "Right. Isobel." She took a deep breath and moved a couple of steps towards her aunt. "To make a long story short, Isobel's like Stefan and Damon; she's a vampire. But she's not exactly the same. She flipped the switch on her emotions."

That made no sense to Jenna and her expression echoed that. "What?"

"Vampires have the ability to turn off their emotions," Stefan explained. "They can choose to go about life without feeling anything. It's the easy road, the way that's easiest for a vampire to live. The ones who make this choice are the most dangerous. They will manipulate and kill without remorse."

Jenna swallowed hard, feeling a sense of fear slide heavily into the pit of her stomach. "And Isobel is one of them?"

Elena nodded. "Yeah. She was here, right before Founder's Day."

The fact that Isobel had been in town and Jenna hadn't known made her want to throw something, but she held it in for the sake of listening to Elena's explanation.

"She wanted something of Johnathan Gilbert's and told Alaric if we didn't get it to Uncle John, she'd kill everyone in town. When she met me…"

Elena's voice trailed off for a minute and she looked away, clearly blinking back tears at the memory. Stefan's arm snaked its way back around her shoulders for support.

"–she told me if I didn't give her the device, the blood would be on my hands. And she hurt Matt to prove it. That's why I didn't want you involved. What we're up against now is so much worse than Isobel and…" Her jaw worked soundlessly for a few seconds. "I don't want to lose you, Jenna."

Jenna couldn't imagine something worse than Isobel, but she didn't ask about it. Instead, she moved closer to her niece and wrapped her arms around Elena, letting the girl cry it out onto her aunt's shoulder. It brought back memories of those days in the hospital, when Elena had first found out about her parents' deaths. This time was just like that time had been and Jenna could do nothing to make it better. She hated being so helpless.

"But she's gone now, isn't she?" Jenna asked nervously, glancing at Stefan over Elena's head. The slight nod he gave eased her worries just enough.

"Now all we have to deal with is Klaus," Elena agreed, pulling away and wiping at her eyes. "And I do not want you tangled up in this. Because he'll kill you if I give him half a reason to."

Jenna closed her eyes and massaged her temple for a moment. "So, how many are already involved? You three, Damon, and John?" she questioned, opening her eyes in time to see everyone trade looks again. "Now what?"

Elena sighed softly. "Jeremy knows," she began. "Bonnie's our witch, so she knows. And… Caroline's another vampire."

"Caroline?" Jenna blinked. "As in your other best friend who was in here earlier this evening? The Sheriff's daughter? That Caroline?"

Elena nodded apologetically. "And her mom doesn't know. Caroline got turned after the accident on Founder's Day."

"How?" Now that Jenna knew what was going on, she suddenly found herself hungry for every little detail. The more she knew, the safer she'd feel.

"When a human dies with vampire blood in their system," Stefan answered, "they turn into a vampire. Vampire blood also heals humans. Caroline wasn't doing well after the accident, so Damon fed her his blood to heal her, compelled her to forget it, and then Katherine came in and killed her, sent her into transition."

Jenna shook her head in confusion. "Wait, what? Transition?"

"Vampire transition," Stefan continued. "It's the period of time after the person dies. They have a limited amount of time to drink human blood and complete the transition into a fully-fledged vampire. If they don't, they'll die."

"I… see…" There were a lot of rules it seemed. "And… compelling?"

"A vampire can force a human to do whatever they want, including forgetting what they were compelled to do. The only way to block it is to wear or drink an herb called vervain. It's harmful to vampires and keeps us from being able to compel you."

"And you're not–"

Stefan shook his head firmly.

"No," Elena spoke up. "My necklace is full of vervain. Jeremy has a bracelet of it, witches can't be compelled, and your tea and perfume have had vervain in them since I found out what it does."

"Oh… so that's what that new fragrance last year was."

"I never wanted anything to happen to you." Elena offered a small, apologetic smile. "So, I made sure no one could hurt you."

It was so much to handle, so much to take in and deal with. Jenna pursed her lips. "What else should I know?" Who that Katherine they kept mentioning was would be nice, but that seemed trivial compared to everything else.

"Klaus," Alaric spoke up pointedly. "And Katherine. At least–"

He was cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Jenna frowned in the direction of the front door, wondering who could be calling at this hour.

"Got it!" Jeremy's voice called from the entryway as the sound of the door opening filled Jenna's ears.

"Jeremy. How nice to see you again," a cold voice floated down to them. "And to finally meet you, Bonnie."

Elena's eyes widened and she shook her head violently. "No. Not now."

"I'm sorry to say I don't feel the same," Jeremy answered from the front room.

"What?" Jenna asked as Elena hurried into the entryway with Stefan close behind her. Feeling left out and worried by the looks in their eyes, Jenna moved to follow, but Alaric held out an arm protectively as they stood in the archway between the kitchen and the front of the house.

"I don't want you near her, Jenna," he murmured.

"Definitely don't feel the same," Bonnie commented, folding her arms over her chest. Jenna made a note to ask why Bonnie was still here later. Right now, her concentration was on the black-haired woman standing on the porch.

"What do you want, Isobel?" Alaric asked, his voice as cold as it had been while he was talking to John.

So this was Isobel. Jenna noticed she wasn't making any move to come inside and wondered about that. She made a note to ask about that later, too.

"I'd like to speak with Elena," Isobel informed the rather large gathering, "as her mother."

"I think you lost that privilege a long time ago," Alaric informed her harshly.

Elena was shaking her head as she walked up to the door. Jeremy moved from his spot to give her a little room, but Jenna noticed that he and Bonnie didn't back down and Stefan moved up next to Elena.

"I don’t ever want you in this house," Elena informed Isobel venomously, slamming the door shut in her mother's face. She turned around and leaned back against the door, her hands buried in her hair. "I really, really don't."

"Then she won't ever be invited in," Stefan assured her as everyone trooped back into the kitchen, Bonnie and Jeremy included. As Elena took her place close by her aunt again, Stefan wrapped an arm around her shoulders for comfort. Alaric had taken his place by Jenna, in what Jenna was taking as a protective gesture. She wasn't sure how to feel about it, so she ignored it for now.

"So, what's with the gathering in here?" Jeremy asked slowly. "Did we miss the party?"

Elena sighed, leaning back against Stefan. "We're telling Jenna everything, Jer. We’ve kept her out of things far too long."

Jeremy raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Everything?"

His sister nodded. "We've told her about vampires and Isobel. Now we're up to Klaus."

"Can I ask a question now?' Jenna spoke up, interrupting the Q&A session between the siblings. "Isobel never tried to come in. I would have thought she would want to force whatever she wanted to do on us."

"She wasn't invited in and she's never going to be invited in," Elena answered firmly. "Vampires can only enter private buildings like houses if the permanent resident invites them in."

Jenna frowned. "So she can't come in at all?"

"Nope," Elena confirmed. "No matter how much she wants to, she can't hurt us here."

"I love how I'm the last to know," Jenna muttered, running a hand through her hair to calm her nerves. No one contradicted her, so she just sighed and continued. "All right, who's this Klaus you keep bringing up? And Katherine? What about her?"

Everyone traded looks again and she could tell immediately that this would be a harder story to deal with than Isobel's.

"Klaus is a vampire," Elena began. "One of the Original vampires. He wants to break the curse of the sun and the moon. To do that, he has to sacrifice the Petrova doppelgänger."

"Why?"

"It's an old legend that a curse binds werewolf power to the full moon and prevents vampires from walking in the sun," Stefan continued where Elena had left off. "Whichever clan breaks the curse gets full power benefits and control over the other."

"So, Klaus wants it for the vampires?" Jenna summed up with a frown of concentration as she pieced everything together.

"That's all we can figure," Stefan affirmed.

"Do you know who the doppelgänger is?"

Silence. Jenna didn't like the looks flitting around or the way everyone was avoiding looking at her.

Eventually, Elena broke the silence. "Katherine Pierce, also known as Katerina Petrova, was the first, five hundred years ago," Elena answered. "She was turned before they could complete the ritual. So, now Klaus is after the second one."

"Who's the second one?" Jenna asked warily, suddenly afraid of the answer.

Silence again, a silence that drove nails through the heaviness in Jenna's stomach.

Elena was the one to break it the second time as well. "They thought the line ended with her. She's been running from Klaus ever since she turned. But then the second one was found. And people started mistaking her for Katherine. Because they found out I look exactly like her."

The breath sped out of Jenna's lungs in one fell swoop as the full realization of what this meant hit her like a bag of bricks to her chest. "No."

"We're going to find a way around it, Jenna," Elena insisted, taking a couple of steps closer to her aunt. "I'm not going to die."

Tears pricked Jenna's eyes and she shook her head, unable to accept any of this. "Elena… when I took you and Jeremy in, I swore I would protect you. I can't…" She took a shallow, shuddering breath. "I can't protect you from that."

"I know," Elena assured her, taking her aunt's hands in her own. "We'll figure something out. I promise."

But that was the last straw for Jenna, who felt as though her whole world was turning upside down. First vampires were suddenly real. Then her boyfriend's wife ended up coming back from the grave. And now she'd found out that her niece was slated to die in some ritual to break a curse for God only knew what. It was all too much for Jenna, too much for someone who felt useless and hated it.

"I can't do this… I can't handle this."

Without another word, Jenna brushed past Alaric and Jeremy and headed for the stairs. She could hear footsteps behind her and Elena's worried huff of breath, but she didn't stop. What Jenna needed was solitude to cry out her frustration and fear.

She reached her room and sat down on her bed, burying her face in her hands. The door clicked softly shut behind her and a moment later she found herself being gently pulled sideways until her head rested against a hard, familiar surface. An arm wrapped around her shoulders as she buried her head in Alaric's shirt and cried until she had nothing left. She didn't know how long she sat there, clinging to him and hoping to wake up from the nightmare today had turned out to be, but it felt like hours had passed by the time she calmed down. Pulling away, she wiped at her eyes.

"Thank you," she murmured, still unsure of how exactly she was supposed to feel about him. She did still love him – probably always would – but the pain was still there.

"Hey, you took it better than we thought you would," Alaric told her gently, removing his arm from around her shoulders. Neither of them could really tell how close or far apart they were supposed to be it seemed, now that the truth was the only thing hanging between them.

Jenna snorted, raising her eyebrows at him. "I took it like a nutjob."

"Better that than something else," he commented and they both offered small smiles. The ice between them seemed to melt a little, but Jenna still wasn't sure what to do next.

"Yeah," she offered, ducking her head to avoid looking at him.

"Are you… gonna be okay, Jenna?" he asked in concern.

She took a few breaths before looking back up at him and nodding. "Yeah. It's just… a lot to take in."

"I know," he agreed. "But you'll be fine. You've got all of us to support you."

She nodded again, not really sure how to respond to that. Silence fell once more, and soon enough Alaric stood. Jenna watched him, suddenly wondering if he was going to leave and feeling rather like she wanted him to stay. But she didn't know how to voice that, so she just let her eyes move up to meet his.

"I think I'm gonna let you rest," he finally spoke. "Do you… mind if I crash downstairs for the night?"

Jenna shook her head and looked back down at her hands. Having him here all night would actually make her feel a lot better. She bit her lower lip as he quietly left the room, shutting the door behind him. It felt like he was shutting the door between them again and she didn't like it. They could be honest with each other now; there was no reason why they shouldn't be able to try again. Maybe this time it would be easier since she now knew what had happened to his wife. They could talk without worrying about what not to say to her. It wouldn't be exactly the same as their carefree relationship had once been, but it was a start.

Or would be, if she ever got up the nerve to talk to him about it.

Steeling herself, Jenna finally stood and headed out of the room and back downstairs. She could hear someone in the kitchen, so that was where she looked first. Alaric was there, standing with one hand on the counter as he sipped from a glass of water. The glass was quickly set on the counter and he frowned at the sight of her.

"Jenna?"

She ran a hand through her hair and stopped by the island, looking up at him as she tried to figure out how to say what she needed him to hear.

"Ric, I…" she began, letting her voice trail off before trying again. "I want you to know that… I understand. I understand why you were hiding things, why you couldn't tell me about Isobel, why you said it wasn't your story to tell. I get it and I know it's going to take time to repair things between us."

She pursed her lips and took a couple of steps closer, glad he wasn't trying to say anything before she could get everything out. "It won't be easy. But I'd like to try. I don't like being angry with you and if there's even a chance to make things better between us… then I want to do it. Okay?"

Jenna searched his eyes, taking his hand in one of hers as she tried to discern what he was thinking. Part of her was holding her breath, unsure if he'd take this offer. Just as she was beginning to think he wanted to hold off, he smiled and her heart melted again. How was it he could always make her feel better?

"I'd like that," he murmured.

Relief nearly swamped her, and she offered a smile in return. Plucking up her courage, she stepped forward, leaning up and tilting her head so she could kiss him. He seemed surprised by the gesture at first, but by the time they pulled back to look into each other's eyes, he had leaned into her touch. They were so close she could feel his breath against her skin. After only a few seconds, she leaned up again to kiss him a second time. His free hand moved to her hip as she placed hers against his cheek. Their other hands remained together, fingers entwined as her heart sang. Maybe now they could work things out and life would stop feeling so wrong. Maybe now–

"Oh!"

Jenna and Alaric let go like they were teenagers caught doing something behind school. Not that Jenna had any experience in that department.

"I'm sorry…" Elena looked startled to have walked in on her aunt making out with her history teacher / step father.

Jenna could feel her cheeks flushing. This was the second time they'd been caught together by Elena and the third time either of the kids had walked in on them since they'd started dating. They really needed to stop doing that.

"I… didn’t know you were back down here."

"Uh, yeah, couldn't sleep," Jenna answered, still blushing terribly. "I hope we didn't wake you up." Though she couldn't imagine how they would have, seeing as they hadn't done anything other than talk and share a few kisses.

"No, we're not– I didn't go to sleep."

Jenna heard that slip-up and frowned. She didn't really care if Stefan and Bonnie were staying the night. It just would have been nice to know. "Are Stefan and Bonnie still here?"

Elena fumbled the pickup. "Yeah. Bonnie's with me and Stefan's with Jeremy."

Jenna closed her eyes in frustration for a second. Why had she expected honesty after so long being lied to? Did any of them know how to be truthful with her?

"Elena," she began with a warning note to her voice and no small amount of frustration, "I don't care if Stefan and Bonnie are spending the night. John might, but I don't. I'd be a hypocrite if I did. I just want you to be honest with me. I'm tired of being lied to."

"Okay then," Elena amended. Jenna was at least a little pleased to see that she looked mildly ashamed. "Stefan's staying with me and Bonnie's with Jeremy."

Jenna gave her a pointed look. "Thank you."

"Are you… okay?" Elena asked as she moved to get a glass of water. "I know it's a lot to take in and I didn't mean to overload you. I just thought you deserved to know everything."

Jenna nodded with a sigh. Her head was starting to hurt. "I have to sort it all out. But I'm glad you told me." Even if she wasn't happy to find out some of these things, at least she could say she felt better knowing.

Elena didn't answer; she just set her glass on the counter and wrapped her aunt up in another hug. Jenna leaned into the embrace, thankful that she could be included in everything now. Hopefully.

When Elena pulled back, both women had tears glistening in their eyes.

"I'm… going back upstairs," Elena finally told the adults as she grabbed her glass of water. "The four of us are kind of hanging out right now, but if you need me – any of us – just call. We'll do anything to help, okay?"

Jenna nodded again. "Thank you, Elena."

"You're welcome," Elena murmured as she turned to head back up to her room. Jenna sighed and moved to follow before she remembered that Alaric was still there. She turned back to face him.

"Do you… want to come upstairs for the night?" she asked, hoping he would humor her and say yes.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" he responded carefully, watching Jenna.

"I know you're just a human and you can't protect me any more than I can," she began in a hurry, "but I don’t think I have it in me to spend tonight alone." Even if all they did was fall asleep next to each other, Jenna just needed his presence.

"Fair enough." Alaric picked up his glass of water and took a couple more steps toward her. 

She offered him a smile before she turned and headed back upstairs. Walking into her room, hearing the door shut behind her, and knowing Alaric was in the room with her brought back so many memories. She headed for the bathroom to calm down a little bit and get ready for bed. That's all it would be that night: sleeping in the same room together.

Once she had changed into the tank top and shorts she usually wore to bed, she returned to the bedroom to find Alaric awkwardly sitting on the bed. Hesitating as she tossed her dirty clothes on the laundry pile in her closet, she slowly walked over to sit next to him on the bed. He was twisting his fingers around his hands in what looked to Jenna like a nervous habit. She figured he was as uncertain about all of this as she was. One of her hands inched towards and eventually covered his, trying to still both of their nerves.

"Jenna…" Alaric murmured. Jenna's eyes wandered down to his lips for a brief second before returning to his eyes. "Should I take the floor?"

She shook her head. "You can… stay up here if you want," she answered, not letting go of his hand. After everything that had happened, she needed his physical presence.

"Then I will."

Alaric pulled out of her grasp long enough to kick his shoes off. Jenna was half-expecting him to strip down to his boxers to make it easier for him to sleep, but he didn't. Maybe he was just trying to make her more comfortable. They ended up under the covers and she was nestled in his arms with her head tucked under his chin before she worked up the courage to let him know what else was going through her mind.

"I can't stop thinking about what Elena said," she mumbled against his shirt, "about the sacrifice."

"She's not going to die, Jenna," Alaric told her quickly, almost too quickly. "We'll find a way. Stefan and Damon are devoted to her, Jeremy cares about her, and Bonnie and Caroline are her best friends. We won't let anything happen to her."

Jenna took a deep, shuddering breath. "I just keep thinking about what it would be like if someone else were watching Jeremy and Elena," she continued, wrapping her fingers around chunks of Alaric's shirt. And then I wonder if they'd be able to do a better job, if they could handle all of this." She pulled herself just an inch closer to him. "What would Miranda and Grayson have done differently?"

"Hey," Alaric pulled back, gently tilting her chin up so he could look into her eyes. "Don't think like that. You're doing the best job you can and considering everything we've been hiding from you, you've done a damn good job of it so far. I'm sure they're grateful someone who cares about them is watching their children."

Jenna shook her head and tucked herself back up against his chest. "Some days I wonder."

As Alaric gently kissed the top of her head and held her close, Jenna wondered again. How would Miranda and Grayson have dealt with all of this? For so long, Jenna had thought the most she had to worry about was making sure everyone in the house passed their classes. Now she knew better. Now she knew what they were up against and that knowledge terrified her.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she blocked out what she could of the pain and the worry, but it wasn't enough to stem the flow of tears. So she cried against his shoulder for the second time that night. Everything hurt. The pain of realizing Alaric had been lying to her had been huge. Finding out her niece was slated to die was much worse. Jenna didn't know what to do anymore. She felt like her life was falling apart around her, and she hated that. 

"Every time I think about what could happen…" Jenna shook her head against his chest again, choking back another sob. "I almost gave them up, Ric. I didn't want that responsibility. But when I really sat down to think about it… I realized it was either me or John and I couldn't stand the thought of my sister's children living with someone like him."

She took another breath as she felt Alaric's arms tighten around her and one of his hands start rubbing her back comfortingly. She took strength in his touch, letting him sooth her as best he could.

"And now," she continued, "I think about losing them and it hurts. John's threats about being Elena's biological father make me afraid that he could take her away from me." She paused again, long enough to tighten her grip on Alaric's shirt even as she leaned back to look him in the eyes again. "I don't know what I'll do if I lose them, Ric."

"You won't lose them," he assured her. "John would be stupid to pull them away from you right now, especially Elena. We're all trying to protect her together. And you're doing a fine job of helping. We'll figure something out, okay?"

Jenna nodded again, her eyes sliding subconsciously down to his lips as they were wont to do when she was this close to him. As her head tilted back and his lips met hers again, she wondered if he was right. Was he lying to protect her again or did he really believe she was playing an important part in everything? She wanted nothing more than to be able to trust him and she hated John Gilbert for the doubt that still lingered.