Hey guys, sorry for the laaaate update! I hope you didn't give up on me yet! Thank you so much for your reviews, please keep on goin'! :)

"You've gotta be kiddin' me." Stefan's fist clenched; that earlier beating felt so good and God knows Damon really deserved another. His fingers nervously tapped the side of his forehead; he made a little press using his index finger on his temple to try to find some kind of relaxing spot. "You're saying you threw out everything that could be useful: the spell books, maps, copies, addresses...everything." he finished with a frustrated sigh; his hands fell out beside his body before he lifted them up again nervously. His fingers were bent a little like he was about to strangle Damon as he said, "I could kill you right now!"

Damon made a step backward as he lifted both of his hands in front of himself protectively, "Not today brother. There was enough brotherly violence for a day don't you think?" He smirked but Stefan could easily tell he meant it. "Alright then I guess you have a very good plan." Stefan folded his arms and looked at his brother with raised eyebrow. Damon rolled his eyes and walked towards the door as he spoke, "Actually I do have an idea."

"Really? And what is it exactly?" Damon could hear the cynicism even from the distance between the living room and the front door. He ignored it and grabbed the door handle "If you wanted to know it's...Elena."

"Elena?" Stefan's confused face was in full display as he saw his girlfriend standing at the doorway—and obviously just arrived from Damon's stiffened body.

"I thought you were going to sleep at Caroline's place." Damon was the first to speak. Elena looked at him scornfully, "Well, you obviously thought wrong." She passed right by him and headed straight for Stefan. "Hey." She greeted him with a warm smile but she got nothing in return. She tried to kiss Stefan's cheek but he pressed his lips together and pulled away. Elena made a nervous step backward "Is something wrong?"

"I...will wait outside." He barely finished the sentence, Damon was at the other side of the door that he closed quickly and left the porch as if deadly flames were licking its planks.

Stefan was left alone with Elena in the empty silent room. The only thing what was more painful in that situation than the silence is what he was about to say.

"I know about you and my brother." He planned to say Damon instead of brother but the truth of the matter is that fact itself is what hurts him the most. From all the men in the world she had to cheat on him with—his only brother! History sure does have a way of repeating itself. He just wanted to do it fast; he wanted to do it as fast as possible. "I'm going and won't come back for probably a couple of weeks. I just want you to know..." He paused and took a deep breath to gather some strength to continue "That it's over Elena. Whatever we had ends now." After he said this, he walked out the house not even giving Elena the chance to respond.

Damon stood by his car leaning against the door with folded arms and nervously shaking fingers. He put on an uninterested face when he heard the door opening.

"Stefan wait!" Damon saw as Elena rushed after Stefan but his brother didn't stop. He squeezed his eyes for a quick moment then his features hardened. Elena didn't give up as tears rolled mercilessly down her face as her voice became shaky, "Stefan...Stefan, please."

Stefan closed his eyes and stopped. He slowly faced the girl; he wasn't able to look at her with the eyes he did before. In his eyes, she had completely changed. For the first time in his life, he didn't want to dry her tears. He didn't want to hug her close and tell her everything will be alright because he would be there for her. This time he couldn't do that because it was not the truth. It wasn't what he wanted to do anymore.

"I don't care Elena. Whatever you want to say, save it for someone who cares." He looked into those huge watery brown eyes and all he felt was disappointment.

"Please, hear me out." Elena made a step towards him and reached out her hand to take Stefan's but he shook his head. The second stare was the anger on his emotional scale and he just stepped on it with both feet, "You cheated on me, Elena. With my own brother! You slept with him before me. You jumped from one bed to another! One brother to another...don't except me to forgive you."

Elena pulled back her hand as more tears rolled down on her face with a full out loud cry. Stefan couldn't help the tears escaped from his eyes too as he continued, "I loved you, Elena. I loved you more than anything. I could have died for you!"

"I love you. I have always loved you; I will always feel this way about you." Elena's hands find their way onto Stefan's neck and desperately clung onto it. Her shaking fingers caressed his skin as she leaned her forehead against Stefan's. "I love you" she repeated. Stefan closed his eyes when he felt Elena's lips on his own as she desperately tried to keep this last tiny moment between them to show that what they had was still alive and unconditional. She strongly holds this last little sparkle as she tried to revive the fire.

"No Elena, stop." Stefan grabbed both of her wrists and took them off of his neck. "I can't do this anymore." He gently pushed Elena aside and finished his walk towards the car.

Damon still stood by the car when Elena caught him. Her face darkened as she said, "This is your your entire fault!" Her angry footsteps were banging on the ground as she approached the elder brother. "I was happy but you had to ruin everything!"

Damon pushed himself away from the car as he smirked at the girl, "You could've said no. I didn't do anything you didn't want to do."

The slap that followed his words wasn't unexpected. He clenched his jaw as he caressed it in annoyance, "Yup. This definitely isn't my day." He murmured and opened the car door. Stefan was already in the car and stared into the darkness. He ignored Elena's calls so Damon drove on the road.

"Stefan, I'm..." he started but Stefan interrupted him before he could say anything more. "So what is that idea you had in mind earlier?" Damon cleared his throat. "Lucy. We will visit Lucy Bennett."

oooOOooo

"How did you get his bag?" Katherine curiously looked about Damon's bag and what it contained. Bonnie nervously turned a paper on her hand. They were on the road again but now they have a destination. "Her name is Mary-Ann Mills. She's not a witch but it looks like she knows a lot about the mother. At least her web page says this."

"That was not my question. I have a feeling that this Mary-whoever is a dead end. She isn't even a witch." Katherine looked up at the mirror and checked her make-up. If Bonnie wasn't used to it by now, she would've been terrified that she was in the driver's seat. "She's on the list so we will talk to her but if you have a better idea I'm all ears."

"I will start thinking of a better plan when you tell me the story behind the bag." Bonnie rolled her eyes and leaned down to take out another paper from the bag that was on the ground between her legs. "You really are a pain in the ass. I have no idea what Damon saw in you."

A smug smile appeared on the corner of Katherine's lips. "Jealous much?" she asked "Easy there, you have nothing to worry about. I happen to prefer the other brother..."

Bonnie growled in frustration "If I tell you how I got this, will you shut up?" Katherine nodded. "You have my scout's honor."

Bonnie put the papers down and leaned back to make herself more comfortable. She started to talk, "After I left that mansion, I went back to the motel where Damon and I wanted to spend the night. I doubted he would be there but this was my first thought so I hoped. When I arrived, the room was empty. I was just about to leave when I saw the trash full with these papers and this bag under the bed. I grabbed it and threw everything in the bag. I put it in the trunk and drove home. That's the story nothing more."

Katherine looked disappointed; she hoped for a more interesting story. She looked at Bonnie with a raised eyebrow "Why take it out now?"

"Because I completely forgot about it. Things happened and it slipped out of my mind." Bonnie felt the anger filling her body as she said the sentence. She hoped Katherine won't catch it but of course she did. "What kind of things?" She asked emphasizing on the word 'things'. Bonnie clenched her fist as she looked out the window, "I thought we made a deal. I tell you the story behind the bag and you will shut up. My part is done and now it's your turn."

"Yes but then I thought the story would be exciting but now I was unfortunate to discover that I was wrong. If you tell me what is the 'thing', then I will keep my mouth shut until you say otherwise. I promise." Katherine looked at Bonnie with puppy eyes that only made the witch even angrier and nervous, "I swear Katherine; it would be the best if I just shut your mouth up with my power."

"Alright. Tell me about the thing and I will be mute for the rest of the ride. If I'm not, you can use your power. So now, speak."

"If it makes you stop talking." Bonnie turned her head towards the window again; her face showed a bored expression like she doesn't care anymore as she started, "When I came home, I figured out that Damon had fucked my best friend. I hope you are satisfied." Katherine raised an eyebrow, she didn't seem surprised as she asked, "Elena?" Bonnie nodded her head. "Yep. The one and only! Now you know, it's time to keep your word."

"I always hated that little bitch." Katherine murmured under her nose but when Bonnie looked at her she dramatically made a move with her right hand like she had zipped her mouth. "You only hate her because she is with Stefan." Katherine opened her mouth to respond but Bonnie raised an eyebrow. Katherine rolled her eyes and mouthed seriously, "Nope."

oooOOooo

"No! No! I don't care. Listen. No Elena. I already told you it's over! Please don't make this harder than it already is...Yes I love you too...but it's not enough. Not this time...just...just please don't call me again."

Damon sat in his car at a gas station. Stefan was in the shop looking for some black coffee to keep their blood warm and simply because they liked it. He was far away from his brother but Damon used his vampire hearing to eavesdrop on his conversation with Elena. So far they've been on the road for three consecutive days but Elena still called Stefan at least three times a day to try and return into Stefan's arms, have his complete forgiveness and his heart again. Unfortunately for her, her mission was inefficient.

Damon closed his eyes and sighed. He leaned his forehead against the steering wheel as his fingertips sunk deeper inside the leather cover. He hated to hear Stefan's broken voice every time as he tries to resist Elena.

He heard the door was opening so he lifted his head up and leaned back pretending he didn't hear anything at all. He turned his head towards the opening car door with a wide smile on his face which he thought a little too senseless even for himself but it was too late to change it now. "You should put some more sugar into your coffee; you look a little bitter brother."

Stefan didn't say a word; he went inside and slammed the door. Damon sighed, Stefan barely talked to him and when he did, his voice was objective without any emotion at all. Damon started to realize he really had given up. He was afraid of what to do and how he could get his broody brother back. It's starting to look like there was no way to get him out of this deep dark hole he helped create.

He started the engine and left the gas station to hit the road again. He turned the radio on to hear a Chuck Berry song playing. This reminded Damon of his past and asked Stefan, "Do you remember this?" He waved his head to the radio with a wide smile on his lips. "It was a great party back to the 60's. I think it was our first fun time together during our wonderful vampire life."

"And the last..." Stefan finished as he continued to stare out the window. "C'mon little brother, we have plenty of time to have fun together again. Just like old times." Damon joked then added in a serious tone "We could be brothers again." Stefan heard the sad hint behind his words; he just sighed and took a quick look at the clock. "Can you stop talking, please?"

After an hour of driving in complete silence, Stefan's phone started to ring, "Is that Elena?" Damon asked as he looked at his brother. Stefan nodded and pulled out his phone tiredly. He listened as the phone continued to ring and looked at Elena's picture on the screen. His eyes were blank as he thought back to their first date when he took that photo of her. So many things had happened since then...

Suddenly, the window next to him rolled down. He jerked his head up but before he could say anything, Damon reached over, grabbed his mobile and tossed it over the rolled down window right into the darkness.

"What are you doing?" Stefan leaned over the door with disbelief and raging fury in his voice. "Helping you move on." Stefan's eyes widened, he turned his head to his brother in disbelief, "Since when did you get the right to do so?" His voice rose dangerously as his right hand squeezed the door handle. It looked like Damon was also on the edge of his patience as he replied, "Listen Stefan, do you wanna take her back?" Stefan's answer was only an angry growl so Damon continued, "I know I have no right to give you any kind of advice but it will be easier this way, you will see. Just...just let me help you."

"Your help is the last thing that I want right now." Stefan spat before he changed the topic, "Are you sure you know where Lucy is?" Damon nodded his head. "I feel her." Stefan raised an eyebrow. "You feel her? How?"

"It's like a Bennett radar." Damon explained as he rolled his eyes. He held the steering wheel with one hand and took out a blood bag with the other one, "They're all connected to me." Stefan watched as he sipped a long gulp, "Connected but how? How is it possible?" Damon finished his food; he threw the empty bag out the window. "Emily." He said simply. "When we made the deal, I promised I would protect her bloodline so she put this little juju spell so I will always know where the Bennetts are." Then he added with a small smile on the corner of his lips "I must say that all of the years of taking care of the Bennetts, no one has made my job harder than Bonnie."

"Then what are we doing? Why are we wasting time with finding Lucy? Just use your radar to find Bonnie!" Damon growled frustrated, "What a fantastic idea Stefan, I would have never thought of that! Thank you!"

Stefan sighed tiredly and leaned back in his seat in realization, "You don't feel her anymore, do you?"

"Not since that night." Damon watched the road blankly. That was his fault he lost their connection. That was his fault he lost Bonnie. Just like it's his fault he lost Stefan as well.

"It's getting stronger. We're almost there."

oooOOOooo

Lucy lived in a little apartment on the second floor. When she saw the two vampires she didn't seemed surprised, almost as if she had been waiting for their arrival. She grabbed her bag and locked the door as she commanded, "There is a bar on the corner of the street, follow me."

"Nice to see you too. So you won't invite us in?" Damon smirked at the girl. Lucy folded her arms and smirked back, "Not even if my life depended on it."

"Is it a Bennett thing this unkindness towards poor little me?" Damon made a fake hurt face. "It's a woman thing." answered Lucy before she turned to go down the stairs. Damon looked at his brother only to see a wide smile plastered on his face in delight at Lucy's response while Damon shrugged and rolled his eyes to follow the witch outside.

When they stepped in the bar, Lucy found a quiet corner and Damon ordered three whiskeys. "I guess you knew we were coming." stated Damon as he sat down. He put the glasses on the table in front of Stefan and Lucy as he sipped his own. "I have my searches." Lucy unzipped her bag and took out a business card. Damon looked at it; the background was a crystal ball with white fog in it. He grimaced "You are a real witch so why do you need idiots like…" he paused and read the name on the card. "Mary-Ann Mills...wait a minute!" As he said the name, he realized he saw it somewhere before. On his list. That's it! He remembered her blog. He knew she was crazy at the first sight of meeting her but he had to check on everyone who had a little knowledge of the Mother.

Lucy nodded her head like she had read his mind. "She called me; Bonnie visited her and asked about the Mother."

"Do you know about the Mother?" asked Stefan. Lucy smiled. "I'm a Bennett." She said it like it was a perfect explanation.

"What about this crystal ball lady? What did she say to you? Is Bonnie alright?" Damon interrupted them impatiently. Lucy sipped her drink before she started to speak. Damon watched her nervously; every second seemed like an hour of torturous waiting. Finally, the half empty glass hit the table.

"She has abilities...she feels things, something like telepathy." she started and Damon snorted. Lucy ignored him and continued, "When she met Bonnie, she immediately felt the darkness. She felt power so strong that it was dark."

"Wait a minute. Are you saying Bonnie actually has her powers back?" Stefan asked. Both Salvatores looked surprised. Lucy smiled sadly and shook her head, "Not just any power, she has the power of the collection."

The vampires looked at each other then back to Lucy. They had no idea what was she talking about. Damon cleared his throat and put on a fake smile. "Can you explain this from those whose bedtime stories didn't come from spell books? Because we don't have a clue about what you just said unless you decided to create a new language like James Cameron did for his movie about blue people."

The witch made a face similar to Bonnie's usual 'especially reserved for Damon Salvatore' faces as she explained, "The collection are the oldest spells in the world. The Mother wrote down 127 spells in sequence, one connected to another. Every spell depends on something unique. It could be as simple and frequent as a full moon or as rare as a doppelganger. Once a spell has been chanted, it's gone forever like it never existed. The point is all the 127 spells lead to one goal. Witches have been trying to figure it out for centuries but when a witch ever got the chance to chant a Collection spell, it overpowered them. This power is so immense that it poisoned their minds. The poison keeps growing until it kills the witch or the warlock who uses the spells."

The air froze around the table like they were in a trance. Damon stared at Lucy, waited for her to continue, believing that this could not be the end to such a tale. Stefan was also in shock but he watched his brother ready to stop him if he decides to attack Lucy. But all Damon did was squeeze his grip on his glass as asked, "Do you think that's what's happening with Bonnie?" Her name almost burned his tongue when he said it. He shouldn't have to left her; he should go after her and protect her as he promised to Emily and to himself. Now God knows how much trouble is she in.

Lucy slowly shook her head. "I'm not sure. I have to see her to be sure. If I could feel her I could tell…but the fact that she's looking for the Mother tells me she already knows about the collection and she's trying to find the source. If she succeeds, maybe she has a chance at survival..." Damon's fingers whitened even more as the blood rushed out of his veins from the strength he squished the glass. His jaw clenched and his eyes were immediately filled with tears of anger. Stefan knew he wasn't able to speak so he did it in his quiet, calm voice. "Lucy, can you find her? Are you able to find Bonnie?"

"No, she always seems to shut me down." Damon squeezed his eyes but Lucy spoke again, "But I can find her partner." Damon's eyes popped open, "Her partner?" Lucy nodded. "That's why I was waiting for you. Bonnie wasn't the only one who visited Mary-Ann that night. She has your lovely ex-girlfriend with her. The one who looks like your current girlfriend."

The Salvatores eyes widened in realization of who it was and Damon's fear got much bigger than before. "Katherine? Bonnie is with Katherine?"