Hello to everyone who favorited/followed this fanfic! I am so sorry for not having updated in who even knows how long. These past couple years have been a bit hectic for me, so I wasn't super creative in terms of writing this story. I kind of lost the whole plot I had planned out, because I was trying to keep some things in line with what's been happening on the show. Because a lot of the plot has been changed or ignored in favor of whatever the writers feel like doing, I've decided that I'm just going to keep doing my own thing with this from here on out. While there are some canon things, most of it will be non-canon and fairly OOC like it has been. I can't promise regular updates, but I will try to update as often as I possibly can.

Chapter 11

"Do I even want to know what's going on?" Caroline asked, irritation spreading across her face.

"Hell, I don't even want to know." I responded, already sensing that I would needed to help come up with whatever solution they needed to solve whatever sudden problem had just come up.

We all shot Babydoll apologetic glances before Elena and Caroline reluctantly walked into the hallway.

I stayed behind so that Baby wouldn't be left alone. After her revealing something so personal and painful, the last thing I wanted to do was make her feel abandoned because someone decided to throw a hissy fit.

I walked back over to the bed and sat down, hugging her. She resumed crying and held onto me a bit tighter. I heard a noise from the hallway, and saw Damon standing outside. He looked like he really wanted to talk to me, but bit his tongue when he saw Baby.

After a couple minutes of crying, she let go and sniffled. "I'm very sorry, Bonnie, I didn't mean to do that…"

"Please do not be sorry. You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for." I told her, my hand on hers. "The things that happened to you…" I had no idea what else could have happened to her, but I knew none of it was good. I can't imagine how she must be feeling right now. "What happened to you should've never happened to anyone. Please, do not be ashamed of how you feel. You have every right to be upset."

I immediately kicked myself. I felt like I was talking down to her or treating her like a little kid. Thankfully, I was the only one who felt that way. She smiled at me, with big wet eyes, and hugged me again.

"Thank you." She said, before standing up. "I think I should get changed or something…" She muttered under her breath.

I could feel Damon's smirk, and I rolled my eyes. Must this guy pervert everything?

"Okay…" I started, not even sure what the hell I was going to do. The commotion seemed to have die down, or maybe everyone was just too busy fuming to continue yelling. I got up and walked over to Damon, and shut the door. We stood in the hallway for a few seconds, before I motioned for him to walk with me. "What the hell was all the yelling about?"

"Eh…" He groaned, indicating that this conversation was going to annoy both of us. "Elena threw a hissy fit about Katherine being here talking to Stefan last night. To be honest, I think she's more angry at the fact that nobody told her."

Rolling my eyes again, I said, "Well, it's not like anything major is happening yet. Katherine simply told me she found some kind of spell on the tomb walls. Esther created it for some ritual that involves a doppelganger." I looked at him, both of us automatically knowing which doppelganger was needed.

"Well, she is conveniently right here." I joked, trying to lighten the mood and avoid starting another argument.

Damon grunted. "Yeah, it's like she forgets she has her own house or something."

I turned and looked at him. Why does he suddenly seem annoyed about Elena being here so often? Granted I think their relationship is general is a bit weird, but I never knew him to complain about her since she's gotten here. Now that I think about it, why am I concerned about his thought process? Months ago we couldn't stand each other, and we're just making progress towards being friends.

"I feel like she's the center of everything bad that's happening lately." I said, sighing.

I stopped, immediately regretting what I said. Who was I to talk about Elena like that? Sure, we had our differences, but she's my best friend. I shouldn't be blaming her for things that are out of our control.

"You cannot tell her I said that… I didn't even mean to say it…

"Relax, Bonnie. You're too wound up." Damon said simply. "Besides, you're not the only one getting annoyed." He continued walking.

I walked behind him, not quite sure what to say in response to that. I felt like things were going to start getting really weird around here soon enough.

We both got to Stefan's room, and saw him standing there with Elena and Caroline. I'm guessing she decided to play peacekeeper in case Elena got upset again.

"What's going on?" I asked, taking a seat on the edge of Stefan's bed.

Elena shook her head and sighed, while Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Katherine is going on." Elena said. "She was here last night talking to Stefan, and neither one of them wants to tell me why." She looked directly at me. "All I do know is that you made an appearance, and you have yet to tell me about it.

Both Caroline and I tensed up, and before I could say anything, Caroline beat her to it. "And why does that make you angry, Elena?"

"Because she's my best friend, Caroline, she's not supposed to be keeping things from me." She said, with what I thought was a hint of accusation.

I held my hand up and said, "Look Elena, I wasn't exactly a willing participant. I happened to be walking back to my room when I heard commotion going on in here. I noticed that Katherine was in the room, and I tried to walk past unnoticed but that didn't work."

The look on her face told me she didn't believe me. Thankfully Stefan spoke up. "It's true, Elena, she got dragged into the conversation by Katherine. She didn't want to be involved."

Elena looked between the two of us and decided that was a good enough answer. She did have more to say, of course.

"Your room?" She asked, confused. "You're staying here?"

Damon chuckled from the doorway. I'd almost forgotten he was there.

"Yeah, you may remember the blonde with pigtails that she helped out last night. She decided to stay and help her out until her friend finds out what they're going to do."

Her face fell and we could tell she felt a little stupid for asking that question. I just let it go. She was obviously stressed about something, and that something happened to deal with Stefan.

"When Katherine was here," She started, "Bonnie said she heard a commotion going on. Katherine and commotions are never a good thing." She looked at both of us, huffed and crossed her arms. "She never does that unless she's trying to get something out of you and Damon. What is it?"

Stefan sighed and put his head and in his hands. "She snuck up on me." He said. "She came in demanding to talk to either Damon or Bonnie about the tomb. When I told her to go away, she sent me flying across the room, then kissed me to try and get me to talk." When Elena's eyes widened, he held his hands up. "I guess she thought I was Damon or something, considering that doesn't work on me. But I didn't kiss her back. You know I wouldn't."

"So you just let it happen?" She asked, visibly irritated.

Once again, I felt my eyes roll. I had a feeling this was going to become a new habit. "It was only for a split second, and she saw me standing there. I think she thought I was going to tell on her if she did anything else."

Caroline looked like she was trying not laugh, and Damon just sat there smirking his pretty little face off. Meanwhile, Elena simply looked at Stefan, then looked back to me.

"What did she want to ask you about the tomb?"

Before I could answer, a familiar voice chimed in. "I found a spell Esther put in the tomb. It's some kind of spell that involves a ritual, and needs a doppelganger in order to complete."

I could feel everyone in the room get annoyed as soon as she said that. Of course, I think I was the most annoyed, considering I was the one that had to figure out what kind of ritual it was for. After that, I was most certainly expected to perform it.

"I don't know what kind of spell it is, so I need Bonnie's help." Katherine said, matter of factly.

"Well, did you have to mess with Stefan in order to do that?" Elena spat, looking like she wanted to hit her.

Giggling, Katherine said, "Wow, you do still care about him. I thought maybe you were switching to the other Salvatore."

That clearly set Elena off, as charged across the room. Caroline followed behind her, trying to keep her from starting a fight. Katherine didn't seem to care, as she had her pinned to the wall in seconds.

"I know both of them are attractive, Elena, but let's not get carried away here." She maintained a firm grip on Elena's upper arms.

I knew I should probably do something to break it up, like toss Katherine into the ceiling and drop her on her ass, but I didn't. Instead, I just stood there watching. Surprisingly, I found that I didn't want to break it up. I wasn't their mother. They could deal with this themselves.

Katherine continued to speak. "You may have both Salvatores on your side, but just remember that you and me are only alike in appearance. You can't have both, don't pretend otherwise." After glaring at her, she let her go.

Elena fumed and said, "I'll be outside in the backyard if anyone needs me." She promptly ran out, not waiting for an objection that never came.

We all stood there looking shocked. Katherine merely looked pleased with herself, and turned back to me. "Looks like you and me little to have a little talk, witchy. You know where to find me." With that, she happily left the room.

Baby walked up as soon as she was leaving, and glared at her when she walked past.

"What's up?" I asked, getting up to see if she was okay.

"Nothing, I was just looking for you." She said, looking at everyone. "I didn't see anyone anywhere, so I started to just wait for you in your room. I didn't want to be creepy, so I figured I'd come looking for everyone. I heard a noise and came over here."

Damon looked at her, surprised at how calm she seemed. I think he could sense she was tougher than she looked. Wanting to lighten the mood, he stepped into the room. "Anyone else hungry?"

Babydoll's POV

We went downstairs to the kitchen and sat around while the boys cooked. Since we hadn't eating anything yet, we all decided breakfast was the best option. Stefan was putting pancake batter on a big griddle, and Damon effortlessly opened a big packet of bacon. It smelled amazing already, and it made me wonder when I last had a full meal. I don't even know how I ate in my lobotomized state, but I decided I wouldn't think about that right now.

I sat between Bonnie and Caroline. So far, I really liked Bonnie. Not only did she help me out tremendously, but I could tell she was a great person and someone I'd be glad to call a friend. Caroline seemed really nice and sweet, and I could tell she was a good listener. There seemed to be tension between her and Elena, who I didn't really know how to feel about.

Looking at her, I can see why the Salvatores were drawn to her. She looked identical to Katherine, but she was different. It wasn't just her hair, but how she carried herself. Elena looked like a person who used to have all the confidence in the world. A girl like her would definitely get a lot of attention, especially from boys. Now I feel like something knocked her confidence down, and she hasn't been able to get it back since.

I passed Elena on the way to Stefan's room, and she looked like Sweet Pea did when I first came up with a plan to escape Lennox House. She gave me a small smile but I could tell it was forced. I did hear some of the conversation before I got to the doorway, and heard Katherine telling her something about how she couldn't have both boys. I guess hearing that from someone who actually managed to do that struck a nerve.

I snapped out of my thoughts, only to notice Caroline looking at us strangely.

"Are you okay, Baby? Am I allowed to call you that?" She asked, concern dripping from her voice.

Smiling, I said, "Yes, that's fine. I'm fine. I was just thinking about Elena."

Almost instantly, Bonnie and Damon simultaneously said, "Aren't we all?"

Caroline looked even more confused as she turned around to look at Damon.

Somehow I got the feeling that all the drama going on wasn't normal. Nothing about their world was normal since the Salvatores returned to town, but this wasn't their normal. Caroline and Damon barely acknowledge each other's existence, which I could tell, because it surprised Bonnie that not only Damon said that, but that Caroline turned to look at him afterwards.

I leaned towards Bonnie and said, "Is there something going on between those two?"

"Yes and no." She answered, looking as equally confused about everything as I was. "I'll tell you in a bit." She got up and said, "I'm going to go talk to Katherine before breakfast is ready. I'll be back."

Everyone nodded, and Stefan and Damon continued cooking.

"Don't worry about Bonnie, she'll be alright." Caroline said, looking over her shoulder. "If she gets out of line, she can always fry her brains a little bit. She's done it to Damon plenty of times."

My eyes widened at that. I knew Bonnie had powers and that she was a witch, so I wasn't surprised that she could do something like that. I was surprised that she would do it to Damon. They seemed fairly friendly towards each other.

Caroline giggled and shook her head.

"Breakfast is almost ready!" Stefan announced, sliding the pancakes on a huge plate, while Damon got his half ready. He made a delicious smelling mix of eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, and green peppers. I was more than ready to eat.

Bonnie didn't come back in the kitchen, nor did Elena come back from outside, but Stefan made them each a plate anyway. I was starting to like him a lot, too.

Stefan joined Damon at the table after wrapping up Bonnie and Elena's plates, and we all started eating. No one said much. I don't think anyone really knew what to say. I guess they started feeling rude about the silence, because Stefan spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Babydoll, we're usually not this quiet." He said, lines creasing in his forehead. "We've been dealing with a lot lately, and it's been stressing us out."

I smiled and shrugged. "No worries, I figured there was something going on, since Bonnie and Damon kept having talks last night. Not to mention Katherine sneaking up on me. I'm doing okay, though. I'm just happy I have a safe place to stay."

Caroline made that weird face again when I mentioned Bonnie and Damon talking last night. I guess they weren't as friendly with each other as I thought, since the idea of them talking seemed strange to her. Stefan didn't look surprised at all, I think he almost expected to hear that. Yeah, it seemed like things were definitely pretty strange around here. I was starting to wonder if I would be able to figure any more of it out.