everyonelives | but oh what a year

[They fall silent for the rest of the trip into Mystic Falls, and soon they pull up to the front of Damon's house. Elena and Jeremy are standing out front, having headed over when they got the text that they had landed, and have been chatting with her brother.

Mostly about party arrangements. Maybe a little about her kids. She hasn't spent much time with them yet, but it's been enough to at least get a sense of them.

She straightens when the car is pulling into the driveway, nudging her brother to get his attention. There's anxiousness in her stance, but she does throw Stiles a wave in the driver's seat and tries not to get too over-eager. Of all of them, she's the one who hasn't actually talked to Jenna yet, so she can't help but be a little nervous.]

( Jeremy is swallowing a lot, it feels like, and he has been since Thanksgiving. What's one more. Surprise kids. But, he can play uncle. He also presses Elena on Dean's - not as gossip, but regarding how she feels - now that it's more public business.

But both pipe down when they see the car rounding the bend. Well, Elena does. Her nudge has Jeremy turning.

Stiles puts the car into park and turns back to Jenna.

"You need help with your bags?"

Jenna shakes her head, thanks Liz and tells her she'll see her in a few hours. Climbing out of the car, she gets a good look at a familiar house. It wasn't always Damon's, but she remembers it all the same. Slamming the door behind her, her eyes fall on her niece and nephew.

She has nothing to her name, so she leaves the idling car behind and makes her way up the rest of the roundabout to the porch. )

Hey you two.

Hey.

[And because Elena has a lot of feelings, she's just going to meet Jenna halfway and pull her into a hug. She knows she probably should ask first, and she'll step back if Jenna pushes her away, but she's missed her, and there's not a small amount of guilt there for her role in how Jenna got here.

But for now, she'll just focus on the fact that Jenna is here and worry about the rest later.]

I missed you.

( No, she gets that hug. She gets the hug right back. Opening her eyes, though, she glares up at Jeremy. )

Get down here, too, punk.

( Jeremy laughs through a few tears before joining them and making it a group hug. )

God, I missed you both. I'm so, so sorry.

It's not your fault.

[None of it is. All of it is on Klaus and Klaus alone or at least that's what Elena tries to tell herself when the guilt gets hard.]

I'm just so glad you're here.

Me too.

( Because at the end of it, she really is. She pulls back again. )

I talked to your mom. ( Who is okay! But, also, relevant. ) And, I hear Ric has kids?

He did. He married Jo, who we do like, but more because she's my medical mentor.

[She would have liked Jo with or without Ric but if Ric was going to get married, he picked a good one.]

They have twins, Josie and Lizzie. None of them are in town though, so you probably won't see them.

Following in your dad's footsteps, then.

( She'll take her niece's word for it, but it does go a long way. )

Well, partial bummer, but partial, he still feels like sort of my ex-boyfriend so I'm good to wait to cross that bridge. So, this is Damon's house, huh? As ostentatious as I'd imagine it would be. Come on. Show me around.

[Elena nods as she steps back, leading the way inside.]

Stefan and his girlfriend are here, as well as Enzo, who's a friend, and Damon and ... our ...

[This is still weird to say.]

Technically they're our kids. But they're from another timeline.

[She makes a face.]

Life's gotten really weird lately.

Stefan, the serial monogamist. ( Enzo, she - well, from Peace knows, but hasn't met in person, Damon and his house -- Jenna just stops in her tracks in the doorway because - huh? )

Well, a bunch of us folks are back from the dead, so let's just leave the lid of the weird for now. You could tell me you're part Klingon and I would just say, great, don't Vulcan death grip me.

( She winces. )

Dawn's here, too?

Dawn is on her way with Mom and Dad, and I think she's going to be staying with Jeremy at the Lockwood house but she is great.

[Elena fully endorses Jeremy and Dawn, but Elena's judgement can be questionable.]

And, Stefan's girlfriend is Dawn's sister. Small world. Buffy, actually, is probably around here somewhere unless she's been recruited into party prep.

I better get an introduction.

( Hint. Hint.

As if on cue, Buffy is heading down the stairs!

"Nope, Buffy is right here. Party prep and Buffy ended long ago when she didn't put sugar in the lemonade she prepared. And then that party was attacked by impatient vampires. Or, when her party was beset upon by literal living dead. Basically, Buffy and parties... I go, I don't plan." )

So, you must be Buffy, or you really like talking about Buffy.

( "Just quirky like that. I am. I'm Buffy. Stefan's girlfriend and Jeremy's girlfriend's sister. And, no, everyone met separate." )

I heard. Neat.

Edited 2026-01-19 00:09 (UTC)

Hey, Buffy. This is my Aunt Jenna.

[And then she tips her head around to see if Stefan is following close behind.]

Stefan in the kitchen, or has he already headed over with the lasagna?

He wanted to make sure they were using the right kind of chafing dish? To be honest, I just watch Stefan cook and then it tastes great.

( But, she takes that last step down. )

But, hi Jenna. Welcome to Damon's house. Pick one of the many bedrooms and make yourself at home. ( To Elena. ) I was going to have some wine and then I - A gift from Stefan to Damon for letting us all stay here. So I thought, why not drink them. Do your kids drink wine? How old are they? I want to open enough bottles for everyone before we head on over.

( Read, Damon's an asshole and they can drink his gifted wine. )

Gray is nineteen and Stephanie is eighteen, so I'm going to say not drinking age, but they did grow up in Mystic Falls, so.

[They probably were drinking, things in Mystic Falls have not changed that much even without vampires in the picture.]

There's going to be plenty of booze at the party though so maybe it's better not to give them a head start.

( "Definitely a point in the drinking column, which I will always be under, so I'm in," Jenna says. )

Wine for the girls, then.

( One bottle, one glass each. )

Come on. We'll leave the kids to whatever it is they're doing.

[Elena moves to follow, knowing where to go for the glasses. She pulls a couple off the shelf before moving to place them on the counter.]

How are you doing? I know the last couple days have been a lot.

[They had to both plan a lot in a short period of time, and a lot of dramatics, never mind Elena's whole kidnapping episode.]

Okay. We're jumping in the deep end.

( She already brought down a wine opener from upstairs, so she's ready when she approaches the bottle. )

Well. Stefan survived Kai Parker. And, you were in Baltimore. And, I haven't had to contend with anyone coming back from somewhere - in years. Kind of just being there for Stefan.

( "Hey, it's not easy to be there for someone all the time," Jenna says, joining them. "I failed at being the guardian. And girlfriend, come to think of it, all... two times I was." )

In our defense both us and Ric were lying to you about a lot.

[You can't really be there for someone without all the information. But back to Buffy.]

And while I'm sure Stefan appreciates it, he should be there for you too. Baltimore alone wasn't easy.

[It was messy and violent and while none of the people who died there were good people but it still was hard.]

And Kai is ... Kai. Even if he is being surprisingly well behaved.

( "I wasn't planning on throwing you under the bus to Stefan's girlfriend I just met, but, yeah, actually. My high school boyfriend cheated and my grad school boyfriend lied." Along with her niece and her nephew. "I had time to wrap my head around everything, especially because my life depended on it."

Jeremy winces at that, but, shrugs with Kai. He wasn't directly involved with him like everyone else was.

"Baltimore was tough, but we've all been through it," he says, also minimizing. )

I promise I'm getting Stefan face time. And I'm nearing a breakdown, I'll -

( "Warn him," Jeremy offers.

"More like, let him be there. Not close off. Let him... do his thing." Jenna says. )

Or, all of the above.

Edited 2026-01-19 05:48 (UTC)

[Elena's mind is spinning through so many things that her usual perceptiveness is hitting the back burner (2). In fairness to her, she's had a lot happening. But with the reassurance that she will lean on her boyfriend if needed, Elena lets it go.]

Mom texted me that her, Dad and Dawn are about an hour out. Do you guys get to do Christmas together often?

[She knows part of the impetus for this one was Dawn's family meeting Jeremy's family and now there's significantly more family than there was previously but she wonders if this is the norm.]

Not as often as I'd like. She always came back to Scotland for the holidays when she was in school ( at least until senior year ), but, she stayed in Berkeley and then moved to Portland. And, from there, there were years I wasn't able to. Slaying has gone international and sometimes they need Buffy Summers. ( Or she butts her way in. ) Most of the time, our relationship is an ongoing game of phone tag no one seems to win. But, I wouldn't want to have it any other way.

( If the alternative was not having her here at all. )

Case in point, how Jeremy and Stefan were from the same hometown.

( "And it's not like Stefan and I play Wordle together."

Or, are really friends. He and the Salvatores are fine, but they're not friends. )

It really is funny how long we managed to avoid making that connection.

[Though given the people involved, it becomes obvious the longer you think about it.]

But it'll be nice to have everyone together all the same.

( "Everyone new and old. It almost feels like a wedding. We're all borrowed from somewhere else. Is anyone wearing blue?" Jenna asks, unhelpfully. She takes a gulp of wine. "Wow. Taste really is..." More, as a vampire. )

We all deserve this. So, promise me. No fretting, no ooh, Kai, or whatever is on your minds. Give yourselves tonight, okay? Nothing about Baltimore - or broken legs - just - we need it. We need it.

We do. Which, speaking of, I should probably head back to get ready. And!

[She holds up a finger to punctuate the point.]

It is Christmas and I do have presents for everyone, so be ready.

[She finishes her glass of wine before turning to Jenna.]

Do you need anything before I go?

(no subject)

attainathons - 2026-01-19 19:54 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

braveandstupid - 2026-01-19 20:13 (UTC) - Expand