Maddy stayed behind.

Not because she wanted to. But because she could tell that Elena and Alaric weren't yet comfortable with her presence.

"Looks like I'm going solo on my first day back in this godforsaken town," she told Stefan, who was gathering his belongings in order to head to Caroline Forbes' house, and help her with her transition.

"It won't be too bad," said Stefan. "You could spend the day getting reacquainted with everything. Meet a few people if you're willing."

"Ah, yes, the other members of this friend group. Does being your sister make me part of the Scooby Doo Gang by association?"

Stefan smirked. "I guess so. You'll fit right in. Trust me, they'll like you more than Damon."

"The Bennett witch might like me more than him, but not as much as she does you. Once she sees that my personality matches my big brother's more..."

"Just play nice, Mads. She's someone we need to keep on our side. We want them all to be safe, okay?"

"For Elena," muttered Maddy. "Alright. I'm off to explore. Perhaps might chat a bit with Mason Lockwood. Tonight's a full moon. If he's antsy in any way, it'll give us more information to prove our theory while we wait for Isobel's research."

She stopped by the Bennett household, taking the time only to make herself known to Bonnie, who seemed at ease given the fact that she was so formal about her introduction instead of appearing behind her and scaring her.

Next, she'd popped by the Forbes household to tell Caroline that she'd be there to help her, if she needed it. The blonde was grateful, albeit looking weary as she adjusted to her new self.

She'd introduced herself to Carol Lockwood and Liz Forbes, who liked her immediately, because they believed Damon and Stefan to be the town's guardian angels. If only they knew...

Matt Donovan hadn't been pleased to hear that there was yet another Salvatore roaming around town, but Tyler Lockwood had apparently seemed intrigued before telling his friend that he was hosting a party near the old Lockwood Estate.

"I believe that's everyone," said Maddy, peering down at the list of names of people to be wary of. She sensed a presence behind her, and knew it was Katherine when she smelled how much perfume the person was wearing. The younger vampire turned around, acknowledging Katherine's smug look. "Well, if it isn't my least favorite person in the entire world."

"Ouch," said Katherine, feigning offense. "I get that you're dumb, but really, you should be more thankful. I'm the reason your brothers didn't perish after your father shot them."

Maddy crossed her arms. "He wouldn't have shot them if you hadn't groomed them. Why are you here? If you're going to hurt me, get on with it. I already heard about you cutting off John Gilbert's fingers, stabbing Stefan, basically assaulting Damon by kissing him while under the guise of being Elena and then telling him you never loved him... shall I continue?"

"I almost forgot how annoying you are," said Katherine coldly. "This is why I never wasted my time on you in 1864. You're just a pretty face with nothing filling your head."

"Maybe I'm not a psychotic criminal mastermind like you, but I'm not stupid. If you want something from me, you best get on with it, because I have things to do."

Katherine shrugged. "I don't want anything from you. Don't even need anything, either. As much as I'd like to force you out of this town, I won't, because I don't want to hurt you."

"That's a first. What did I do to end up on Katherine Pierce's 'Favorites' list?"

She snorted. "Trust me, you aren't on my list of favorites. You're just not someone I want to waste my time on. I don't want to hurt your brothers either, believe it or not. Damon is insufferable, but Stefan has always been my highest priority."

"If you care so much about Stefan, what's with your little 'game on' message and turning Caroline? You obviously did it for a reason. You're too clever to have done it just to create a new inconvenience for my brothers while they try to pretend they're not fighting over yet another girl who wears the Petrova face. You need her for something, don't you?"

Katherine didn't confirm or deny it. "Just stay out of my way, and everything will be fine. I love Stefan, and I want him safe and sound."

"You know they're going to stop at nothing to figure out what your game is here, right? You're threatening the safety of that little girl they're fawning over."

The older vampire raised a brow. "Wow... you really don't like her, do you?"

"How can I?" inquired Maddy. "One, I just met her, and know nothing about her. Two, she has the same face as you, the woman who ruined our lives. And three, she's the center of yet another conflict that's going to deepen the divide between my brothers. You know, I pity her. Their love for her is leaving her to be exposed. You somehow found out about her, likely because of their return. I know you track Stefan wherever he goes. Something is bound to happen to her, and they're going to suffer because of it. So yeah... I don't like her. Yet. But I bet she's a lot more tolerable than you, so let me make one thing clear. If you don't get the hell out of this town, I'm going to make sure I join my brothers in uncovering whatever your scheme is. They might hesitate to kill you if the opportunity arises. But you know I won't, Katherine."

Maddy could tell that Katherine was holding back the urge to strike her. She knew she was taking a big risk, talking to her like that. Katherine's apparent love for Stefan couldn't possibly be strong enough to stop her from slicing Maddy's head off. And Maddy was very aware of the fact that Katherine could easily kill her if she wanted to.

She knew there had to be something else at play, when Katherine merely balled up her fist, and rolled her shoulders back as if to put herself at ease. "Other vampires may let you act like a spoiled princess in their presence," said Katherine, "but one day, princess, your luck is gonna run out with me, and I won't have any problem ripping your heart out."

Maddy said nothing. She blinked, and Katherine was gone.

She found Mason once she neared the Lockwood Mansion. He was exiting the driveway in his truck, with an expression that suggested he had somewhere important to be. But he stopped when he saw Maddy, and rolled down his window to address her. "Can I help you?"

"I don't know," she said casually, coming closer and leaning on the door. "Where can I find a truck like this, hmm? It's an '82 Ford Bronco XLT, right?"

He looked surprised that she knew that. "Uh, yeah. There's a dealership in Charlottesville, but this model's pretty old nowadays, I had it passed down from my dad."

"Richard, right?" she asked. "The first, of course. Your brother, the second. I was sorry to hear about his passing. I didn't know him, but the townspeople seemed to admire him a lot."

Mason looked suspicious. "Yeah... how did you know my dad?"

"I didn't. My Uncle Zach did, though." She held up her hand. "Madeleine Salvatore. Damon and Stefan's sister."

"I think I arm-wrestled with your brother at the carnival the other day. Didn't see you there."

"I just came back to town. I took an extra long winter break just to be abroad for a bit. If you've got somewhere to be, I don't want to keep you any longer. You look anxious."

He tried to play it off as if he wasn't. "Oh uh, just some errands. Did you need something? You were heading to the house."

"No, I've just been making rounds to introduce myself to all the important people in town. I met Tyler and Carol, and I heard you were here, so I thought I might as well say hello."

He cast her a small smile. "Well, it's good to meet you, Madeleine. I hope to see you again soon."

"See you," she said, stepping back and allowing him to drive off. There was a rattling noise as he went over a pothole just before the car left her field of vision. She hummed, finding it resembled the sound chains might make.

"So," she told Damon in a phone call once he dialed in from Duke to ask how she was. "Mason Lockwood is either a really kinky motherfucker, or he restrains himself. Likely both, but the latter pertains to his potential status as a werewolf. I'm guessing they lose control in that form? Might explain why that lady I told you about was torn apart so viciously."

"We'll see what we can find. We're still looking through stuff. The chick here tried to kill Elena, but now she's being helpful while she tries to pretend she doesn't feel a spark between us."

"Ugh, grow up, not everyone wants to sleep with you."

"Hey, you were all flirty with Ric. Don't judge me."

"Can you blame me? Have you looked at him? He's cute. Pity about him being with Jenna, though. Ooh... that's someone I should probably meet. Does she know anything about the supernatural, or not yet?"

"Not yet. Don't tell her anything."

"You should probably say something to her soon. Katherine already appeared to her, and she is invited into the Gilbert House. Might be safer if Jenna knows. Speaking of Katherine, she came up to me. Said some bullshit about not wanting to hurt us or whatever."

"Yeah, right, it's Katherine. She's just here to cause a problem."

"I know. Well, I'll call you again if I learn anything new." She hung up, checking a few messages from Stefan letting her know he was going to supervise Caroline at the water hole.

"Water hole," she mumbled to herself. "Tyler Lockwod's party. Hmm."

She made her way to the Gilbert House, knocking once when she heard a heartbeat that let her know Jenna was home.

"Hi there," said Jenna awkwardly when she saw her. "Everything alright?"

"I wanted to say hi," said Maddy. "I'm Madeleine. Damon and Stefan's sister."

Jenna's eyes widened. "Sister? Oh, I didn't know there were more of you."

"I asked them to keep it a secret. I don't really like people knowing about me. Leaves them an opening to say disrespectful things. Can I come in?"

"Sure," said Jenna. "This is great, actually, I've been meaning to talk to Stefan, but I feel bad butting in while he's with Elena. Uh... your brother, Damon..."

"I know," said Maddy as she went to sit on the couch. "He likes Elena, too. If I had a nickel for every time my brothers have fancied the same girl... well, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice."

(A/N: I know the glorious Dr. Doofenshmirtz didn't drop this juicy quote until the 2011 Phineas and Ferb movie but bear with me.)

Jenna laughed. "Well, I wouldn't have a problem with it if he'd just learn to keep his paws off of her."

"I'll talk to him, don't worry."

Jenna held up a finger. "Are you older than both or—?"

"Middle child. But on occasion I treat them both like my younger brothers. If the situation calls for it, that is. Damon can be... very immature. He likes control and becomes upset when he loses it. He knows what he wants and he tends to be selfish sometimes. But it's because of him that Stefan and I survived as long as we did. Damon and I share a bond that I can't claim to have with Stefan. Likely because Damon is my brother, through and through. But Stefan is partially like my son. He used to call me 'Mom' on accident."

"That's sweet," said Jenna. "I think I did that to my sister once. She thought I was calling her 'old.'"

Maddy's phone started to ring, and she sighed when she saw it was Damon. "Well, it was really nice to meet you, Jenna. I have to take this call. My brother probably needs something."

"Of course," said Jenna. "Thank you for introducing yourself. I hope to see more of you."

Maddy smiled, making her way out before she answered the phone. "What's up?"

"Have you heard of anything called the 'Curse of the Sun and the Moon?'"

"Um... yeah, have you been living under a rock? I swear Lexi mentioned it once. Oh, that's right, you wouldn't know because you always treated her like shit and never internalized anything she ever said."

"Ouch. But I guess it's better that you're taking it all out on me verbally instead of beating me to a pulp."

"I'd like to. One punch for each person you killed that mattered to me. Zach. Gail. Their baby. Lexi."

"Look, what happened in 1994... I was wrong, I know it, and I'm gonna regret it for the rest of my life. I didn't mean to kill them. Zach... well, it was a relief to be rid of him, but I never intended to hurt Gail and the baby that badly. I'm sorry, Mads. I shouldn't have done it."

"And what about Lexi? You may not have seen her as anything more than a nuisance, but she was my sister, Damon. Stefan's best friend. She meant the world to us and you... you just killed her. I didn't get to say goodbye. You put her through hell in the seventies and you thought that the best way to make up for that was to kill her?"

"Okay, I'm sorry about that, too, I shouldn't have tricked her, and I shouldn't have killed her. I did what I had to do to keep the Council from finding out about us."

"You two never should have stayed in town. I begged you to leave, I begged you not to let your lives become all about one person. But you two didn't listen. As happy as I am to see you and Stefan getting along again... I worry this isn't going to last. Something bad will come and tear us apart, and then what will we have left? The last living member of our family is gone. Lexi is gone. What are we going to do if we can't even look each other in the eyes without feeling hatred?"

"It's gonna be fine, Maddy. Elena just... she... I don't know. Stefan cares about her. We have to protect her, too."

Maddy sighed, knowing she wasn't going to get through to him right now. Her phone buzzed, and she drew back. "Stefan's calling me, I'll talk to you later."

"Alright." Damon hung up this time, and Maddy took the chance to pick up as Stefan asked, "Hey, have you seen Caroline?"

"I'm still in town. Weren't you going with her to the waterhole?"

"Well, we were, but now I can't find her, and the sun's going down. Elena just called to tell me that a werewolf bite is lethal to vampires."

Maddy went rigid. "Mason Lockwood had some sort of chains with him in his truck. If he's gonna do what I think he's gonna do, then we have time to find her before we need to get the hell out of there. I'll meet you by the parking area next to the water."

She sped off once Stefan agreed to the meeting place. When she found him, they nodded at one another, and started to move deeper into the woods, listening for any voice that sounded like it could belong to Caroline Forbes.

The sky was dark by the time they came across something other than high and drunk teenagers who were clearing out of the water hole and presumably moving on to a more intimate setting. They came across a familiar truck, which caused Maddy to nudge Stefan and mouth 'Mason,' as they heard a low growl.

On the ground by the trunk there were scratch marks, and attached to a nearby tree were the chains Maddy had heard earlier. Stefan made to step toward the window of the rear door, to see if he could spot anything inside, but Maddy stopped him, moving forward instead and peering in. There was nothing, at first, but then, two glowing yellow eyes appeared in the darkness.

She was thrown back as the wolf burst through the window, shattering glass at Maddy's feet. He landed on her chest, and just when she thought he'd bite her, he sped off in a different direction, moving just as quickly as a vampire, if not faster.

"Are you okay?" asked Stefan as she got to her feet, wiping the muddy paw prints off of her shirt. They were almost the same size as her hand.

"I'm fine," she said. "We have to find Caroline now, before he does."

At that moment, they heard a cry of pain, followed by several exclamations. "Caroline! What are you doing? Ah— Caroline! Caroline!"

They followed the sound of Matt Donovan's voice, finding that Caroline was now feeding from him, unable to control herself. Stefan immediately ripped her off. "Stop it! Stop! Stop— stop!"

Matt crumpled to the floor, and Maddy quickly bit into her wrist before pressing her blood into his mouth to heal him.

"We need to get out of these woods, now," Stefan was telling Caroline. "We need to leave."

All around them, they could hear growls and the movement of leaves as someone ran across them. Maddy hoisted Matt to his feet, knowing that the wolf was circling them, leaving them no way to escape.

"We have to run together," said Maddy. "Come on—"

"What's happening?" asked Caroline frantically. "What is it?"

"It's a werewolf," said Stefan. "He will try to kill us, and he can. You need to run as fast as you can, okay? Follow Maddy."

The elder Salvatore nodded, holding onto Matt as she started to sprint, making her way back to the clearing where they'd be able to access the main road. She stopped when she heard a gasp, and found Caroline and Stefan had come across Tyler Lockwood, who was lingering near the ruins of the old Lockwood Estate.

"Hey!" he said when he saw the four of them. "What are you doing? Why is Matt—?"

The werewolf burst out of the shadows, and Maddy had to kick it right in its stomach to keep it from latching onto Caroline. When the wolf tried to bite the blonde again, Maddy grabbed a nearby branch and whacked it across the face.

In a sudden burst of bravery, Tyler leapt forward and yelled, "NO!" The wolf stopped, looking at him for a moment, before he sped away. The young boy, feeling confused and overwhelmed, cast them all a strange look before rushing toward his car.

Maddy let out a sigh of relief. She noticed that Matt was staring at them, wide-eyed and afraid. Figuring she ought to compel him, she grabbed him roughly and made him face her. "Forget everything that happened after you and Caroline were making out, or whatever you were doing. You had a good time then you went home." She turned to her brother. "He has my blood in his system, I'll get him home safely."

Stefan nodded. "See you at the house."

Maddy helped Matt walk, having him lead her to his truck. He had no choice but to let her drive, since she didn't trust that he wouldn't get into an accident during the short ride to his house. Once they got to the Donovan household, she stopped him in the doorway and compelled him to spend the next day home, to make sure he wouldn't be turned.

"But I have to work," said Matt.

"I'll pay you, I don't care," said Maddy. "Just stay home. I don't want to turn you into a vampire. No offense, but you'd just be another burden, and I really don't need more of those."

Matt nodded obediently and shuffled into his house. Maddy checked that no one was watching her before making her way to her own home, where she found Damon drinking by the fireplace.

"If you're here to berate me again," he muttered, not looking up, "then you might as well get it out before I finish this bottle."

She shook her head, and went to sit beside him. "I'm done scolding you. I got it out of my system ages ago. And I spoke to you about it already. I just want you to know that I'm not okay with what you did. I can't look the other way when you sexually assault minors and when you kill innocent people who have done nothing but help us. You can't do this, Damon. I hurt people too, I won't lie, but there are lines I won't cross. Hurting kids, hurting those who are close to us, and crossing boundaries that are never ever meant to be crossed. How would you feel if someone did that to me, huh? If a guy took advantage of me?"

Damon, for the first time since her arrival, appeared ashamed. "I'd kill him. You know that."

"If you wouldn't want someone to do it to your sister, how could you do it to a young girl who never did anything to you? Not that anyone deserves to have that happen to them, but she was completely innocent. Annoying and bratty from what I hear, but that doesn't mean that she's free game for being toyed with like that. I expect you to apologize to her, Damon. Please."

"I will. Promise."

"Now... what's got you so morose?"

He huffed. "Elena. Guess I got a taste of my own medicine today when she made it seem like there was hope for our friendship. Then she turned around and told me I lost her forever."

"Maybe it's a good thing. She's human, Damon, and she's seventeen. Stefan shouldn't be sleeping with her and neither should you. You shouldn't be in her life at all. It's putting us all on the chopping block and I am not a fan of being in danger all the time. I just don't think it's healthy for you to fall in love with someone who has the same face as someone who mistreated you."

"You don't get it," Damon mumbled. "You don't know what it's like to have this inexplicable connection to someone. I want to let her go but I just can't. I feel like not knowing her would just eat me alive. You've never had that, Mads. You've never had someone that made you question everything. That made you want to be so reckless because for once you feel passion like nothing you've felt before."

Maddy winced. "I guess not. But it still seems like a death sentence for all three of you."