everyonelives | Let the moment go… Don't forget it for a moment, though

( Dean will think about it.

Getting to work entails more... Dean cleaning up after himself, pulling shirts down, doing a quick through-the-bathroom/kitchen spruce. But it turns more into Dean doing some welcome home Elena food and Sam has to ... do more of the cleaning.

It's simple, whatever Elena had in her fridge or cabinets, Dean Chopped-style whips something up. )

[It's a long talk with Jo on their ride home from the hospital. They begin crafting their plan, noting what pieces they'll have to put in place. They'll wait, until after the girls have headed far far away from here, but now might be the perfect time to leverage some answers.

Jo will do anything to save her daughters from the curse placed on the gemini witches before the, and Elena is right there with her.

But once they're done, and Jo puts some wards on the doors so no one comes in that she doesn't want to, Elena steps inside her apartment and closes the door behind her. She closes her eyes, because it's been a long, long day, but before she can get too far into relaxing, her brow furrows.]

... Is something cooking?

( Jo's wards will work, just not on the two brothers who are occupying her two bedroom.

What's cooking is reconstituted Grill leftovers, but the steak is breaded with chips. the veggies are resteaming in a pan. she does not have a lot to work with, but he manages. he's standing in her kitchen with the towel over his shoulder. )

Leftovers Surprise. The surprise is, it's your leftovers. How you feeling?

Fine. Good. Much better now that I'm actually home.

[She makes her way into the kitchen and peers at the food.]

That smells really good.

They're leftovers. But, jazzed. Vegetables resteamed. ( He points with his spatula. ) And your stale chips make for a great crust. You uh, you need us to do a grocery run before we get out of your hair?

( Tonight? Tomorrow? Does he know? )

Uh. No, that's okay. I don't really do a lot of cooking.

[One, she's usually not home and two, she can't actually do it. It's for the best if she doesn't try.]

Last time I tried to cook, I burned it, it set off the smoke alarms and the entire floor got drenched. Out of respect to my neighbors, I order in or microwave.

( Out of disrespect for you. )

Sam, what's that -- isn't there like a subscription? There are these microwave meals, ready-to-eat, but chef prepared.

I've heard of them.

[And the many many alternatives.]

Caroline got me a subscription one year? But I'm also barely home so even then it's not really worth the money.

Because they sit. Yeah. You just need to get yourself an in-home chef.

( That's sort of an offer but it's also not. Ignore him as he -- finds the plates. )

What do you want to drink, you have -- open bottle of wine, water...

( Elena's not really an entertainer either, is she? )

Water's fine.

[She probably shouldn't go for booze or caffeine just yet. She'll give herself some time to sleep on it.]

And you guys can catch me up on what I missed?

["Actually, I've gotta go check in with some people. But Dean will fill you in."

And Sam's going to ... mysteriously sneak out and go be elsewhere so Dean and Elena can be ~alone~.]

( He was this close to telling you to grab a plate but, guess it's leftover leftovers for you, now, bro.

He plates one of the crusted filets and uses tongs to squeeze some resteamed veggies, setting it down in front of Elena. That's before he goes into the fridge and grabs the Brita, pouring her a nice, cool glass of water. )

You first. Heard you ran into a witch. Not named Sabrina, but, 'Harvey.' Was he dreamy?

( He plates himself some, and then plates a third, covering that in foil. In the fridge that goes for Sam. Beggars can't be choosers and Dean finishes off her wine, bringing a glass with him.

Jokes aside, people arrived because they thought she was in danger. )

What'd he want?

He did say. He was posing as an ADA. All he did really was ask me questions about the accident.

[And she doesn't know if he actually got anything out of it. She'll have to remember to warn Caroline not to compel him if he does go talk to her.]

It didn't really seem out of the ordinary.

Why?

( That's for him, and not just Elena, who, obviously, doesn't know the answer. He does take a big bite and then -- speaks again. )

So he's a shady witch. Probably just wanted to confirm who you were. Maybe you weren't on your radar but you are now.

( And there goes the napkin. )

He say he was going to come back?

[She shakes her head.]

He said he might talk to Caroline, but given what I know about him now, I doubt it. I feel like a lot of that conversation was just to check on me.

Do you feel -- safe? We were going to get out of your hair -

( To be polite. But, if it's something, if she needs anything... )

Yeah. Yeah, I'm good.

[If the worst they have to deal with is witches, then she's better than good.]

Jo and I have a plan, so we'll handle it. Don't worry about me.

[Unless he wants to, but Elena is used to taking care of herself.]

Right.

( That subtle brow movement probably indicates he will worry. )

Things you missed. Damon turned one of the vampires. Graduation happened. Nothing stopped it. Jack walked. ( He smiles and then that smile fades. ) And now he wants to hop a plane to Europe with the teenaged supes.

[She smirks a bit as she takes a bite of her food.]

So he's being a teenager.

He's never wanted friends before, or to travel. All he wanted, for months, was to learn how to hunt. And now, it's, Dean, can I see Europe on my friend's dad's dime. Except, he went to Sam and not me.

( And probably Cas. )

Okay, first of all? The kid is always going to go to the parent who they think is most likely to say yes.

[Aka Sam's a pushover.]

Second of all, he'll have plenty of time to learn how to hunt if that's what he wants. But he won't always have opportunities like this. Hell, I've never even left the country. If my life wasn't a mess when I was his age, I would have jumped at a chance like this too.

... I'd say me too, but I'm deathly afraid of flying. Planes crash. Clowns kill. It's a thing.

( But, her words help. They calm him as he takes another bite of food. )

Just how messy was your life?

[She exhales slowly, trying to figure out where to start.]

Well. I was a vampire at the time, not loving it but trying to pretend that I did. My ex-boyfriend's doppelganger was running around, pretending to be him while he was drowning in a safe at the bottom of a quarry. My best friend was dead and no one knew but my little brother.

I was getting ready to start college and try to move on from the terror that was high school, but that wasn't an easy thing to do. Especially when some of it follows you to college.

Can't outrun it. No matter how much you try.

( The it being every proverbial idea you could think of in these unsaid examples. )

You were a vampire. And -- your ex - was also a doppelganger.

[She laughs.]

Yeah. It was shortly after that that I found out why I even exist in the first place.

[As a doppelganger anyway.]

So the reason that doppelgangers exist is that it's a natural consequence for an immortality spell. If you want to become immortal, nature's going to create a version of you that will die. Turns out, my immortal ancestor had a lover who conspired to turn them immortal in the first place.

[Hence, Stefan.]

And nature didn't like that. Everything dies.

( He's -- definitely used to the backlash of death not sticking. Dean is a walking testament. )

All that was going on and you were right out of high school? And a vampire?

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