Chapter 30

It was night when the council met again. Liz had contacted Richard and with Mason's help managed to convince him that they didn't have the whole story. Richard wanted nothing more than to claim she was wrong, but one hard look from his baby brother shut him up.

"And what do you suggest? Not to welcome those freaks I hope."

He had sneered and Carol jumped up ready to back her husband's opinion. Privately Mason thought she looked like a wedding cake in her outfit but the mental image of her jumping out of a wedding cake caused his stomach to roll.

"Actually... Exactly that."

Jenna grinned. Meredith Fell opened her mouth to object but Mason spoke first.

"Face it bro, there just aren't enough humans from the founding families to protect this town. Despite all your efforts in adding more and more members that we've never even heard off previously, the numbers are dwindling or have you forgotten that Logan was turned into a vampire, under your very noses may I add?"

Richard's face turned red.

"Accepting the undead into the fold is unacceptable!"
"But pushing a werewolf to be involved is?"

Mason responded with the truth. A needle could be heard if it fell at that moment as his statement shut everyone up. Mason grinned at his older brother, who looked murderous. Liz touched the gun that was tucked in one of the folds of her skirt, ready to pull it against the mayor.

"You know, accepting their side of it may not be entirely wrong."

Jenna said quietly.

"A vampire was posing as my dead niece for months, Richard. Pretty sure my sister and Grayson died because of her, too. If it wasn't for the 'freaks' figuring things out, a lot more people would have died."

Liz nodded, opting to out more of the truth while concealing Zach's disappearance and its reason.

"Matt Donovan wasn't Matt either. My own daughter and your son were friends with him, Carol. Do you really believe that not adding friends of us, who have proven themselves, to our numbers not only doesn't harm us, but actually helps our cause?"

Looking at Mason, Meredith Fell remembered him rushing to the hospital with his girlfriend after her nephew had been attacked. That girl was with them too. She vaguely remembered being told how to save the kid's life. Also it was Alaric Salzman who had killed her cousin when had been turned into a vampire and gone on a killing spree. Not one of the council, she thought. She spoke up.

"Didn't that friend of yours tell me how to save your nephew? She's not human either, is she?"

Jenna raised her brows at the lady doctor and kept mum. All eyes were on Richard, who sighed, knowing he had lost.

"Fine. But there have to be ground rules."

The rules were simple enough. A register for all vampires and werewolves, as per Mason's addition, that chose to stay in the town. Supernaturals from the founding families would be allowed to become members of the Founder's council as long as one human member of the same family was also in the council.

Privately Liz thought that was a good idea. Forcing at least one person per generation to stay human and procreate, was always good in her book.

The vervain in the town's water supply would stay there. The entire falls area would be out of bounds for humans and vampires, on the night of the full moon, in favor of the werewolves. Similarly, special blood drives would be held weekly at the hospital and their supplies would be strictly for vampire use.

"No more killing."

Richard had announced. Later Stefan would joke that killing wasn't necessary anyway, much to Damon's amusement.

"Lexi is good for him."

Bella had mused, only to be corrected by Damon

"Sex on tap is good for him, you mean."

The three friends shared an eye roll as Stefan blushed. With Liz's blessing, Mason had started a security service, employed his pack, and each and every supernatural scuffle was handled by them, letting Liz and her deputies to handle the normal events, for which they were better equipped anyway.

Stefan convinced Damon to invite Zach back to take care of the family house, and the newly reopened boarding house, as he would accept it was time to settle down, stop acting as a teenager and take his position in the family company.

Damon mocked him and his 'monkey suits' opting instead to follow his own passion and drink. Realizing that drinking all the time -and almost always alone- was pathetic, he took it one step further and opened his own bar.

"Will you name it 'Fangtasia' too?"

Lexi had laughed. Damon had threatened to come after her with a stake. Yet he did name his bar after the well known fictional one.

"Name's catchy!"

He explained, much to everyone's amusement. Stefan had caught him one night watching Tru Blood and wasn't above using it to get his big brother to behave. Plus it was funny seeing Damon grumble about Sookie and Eric not being endgame when they were perfect for each other.

Jeremy had taken to being an only child again fairly easily. With the days of drugs and smoking behind him, he was a really nice kid. Mason took him under his wing and Jeremy had shrugged his approval at Jenna's request that Mason moves in with them. Bella still stayed with him when Jenna had to work with an overnight stay, much to Mason's annoyance.

"Staying apart every now and then, you know, is good for a relationship."
"Why does she have to work on the one night I'm not working?"

He had whined.

"Just be happy I'm not asking you to come with me when I visit my dad again."

she had laughed. After much deliberation Bella had sat down with her parents to confront, and later thank, them for everything they'd done for her. They'd both gone misty eyed as none wanted their relationship to really change.

Well, except one thing.

She asked if she could keep Charlie's name. She no longer remembered, or cared to remember, her real name. Charlie had agreed on one condition. Now that she no longer needed his family's protection, she'd be the one to offer it.

She had gladly accepted and it was Isabella Swan the name she put down in the brand new register, hidden in the headquarters of the Founder's Council.

- - - Memories of a Past and a Future - - -

The gang met up at Damon's bar, that no one called by its real name, much to Damon's chargrin. Bella and Lexi were sitting in a low booth gossiping. Mason and Damon were arm wrestling, both grunting trying to take each other down. Stefan had been sent to make them drinks, a new talent he had discovered recently. He made mean cocktails.

Jenna reached the booth just as Stefan arrived with their drinks balanced on a tray.

"Tell your boyfriend to put more bathrooms. The line is crazy."

She instructed Bella, who laughed and called the instruction out to Damon. The vampire rolled his eyes, causing Mason to mock him by doing the same. Stefan put the tray down and walked purposely to them, where he passed their drinks under their noses.

Bella's compelled idea to use a small amount of blood in her food and drinks was a very good one, he had decided.

Predictably, Damon perked at the whiff of blood in his while Mason finally noticed the low cut shirt on his girlfriend and realized he wasn't the only male in the club doing the same thing. The arm wrestling competition was abruptly abandoned as both men shifted their focus elsewhere and, barely a blink of an eye later, were seating next to their girlfriends. Lexi passed the shot glasses around. Jenna raised hers in a toast

"To friendship."
"To being at the right place at the right time."

Stefan added

"To us all."

Mason piped

"To memories."

was Lexi 's contribution

"To choices."

Damon shared while looking at Bella with a small smile, which she returned

"To the future."

she raised her own glass. They clinked glasses, a group of different species, bound together by friendship.

A/N: Yes, this time I am ending it. Hope you all enjoyed the ride and I hope to see you soon in my next story (so far untitled) that includes our favorite Originals. Catch you on the flip side!

~ T1gerCat