"Hey Ric," Frankie greeted her brother, pulling the door to the apartment open and seeing him standing before her, looking particularly disheveled, "You look tired, your new girl Meredith keeping you up?"

Rolling his eyes at how similar she could be to Damon, Alaric passed her one of the cups of coffee he'd brought as he entered, "I did whiskey dial her at 2am," Frankie let out a splutter of laughter at this before pursing her lips and motioning for him to continue, "but no, I'm here to do an inventory on my weapons."

"Any particular reason you're counting your toys?" she teased, following him though the apartment as she gratefully sipped her coffee.

"Someone was murdered a few nights ago, and it was one of the Gilbert weapons that was used. I'm doing inventory to see if any others are missing."

If someone had been killed with a Gilbert weapon why did her brother need to check his own inventory? The only people who'd been here were themselves and occasionally his new girlfriend, shouldn't he be looking into who accessed their weapons instead?

"No one could've gotten to your weapons without you or me noticing though," she said after a moment, confused.

"Damon thinks Meredith could've had access," he said, rolling his eyes at the expression that passed across her face, "I know, I know."

"Shit Ric, you really know how to pick 'em."

Alaric groaned as he pushed her away, opening his mouth to reply when her phone rung and she held up a finger to him, pulling it to her ear while groaning down the line as she saw who was ringing her.

"Frankie, love," Klaus drawled down the phone line as he strolled lazily through his living room, "as penance for you sending my eight phone calls to voicemail yesterday, you're coming to dinner tonight. I have a surprise for you."

Frankie laughed in amusement, she knew exactly what the surprise was, he'd been at her doorstep the night before, exactly the reason why she'd screened Klaus' calls but she was entertained by his invitation, curious to see if there was anything more behind it. Not to mention, she did enjoy stringing Klaus along when he was attempting to be mischievous.

"And what's for dinner tonight, I'm fairly sure I'm unavailable. Bustling social life, friends who aren't compelled to spend time with me, you wouldn't know of course but it's rather enticing having a social life free of assassination attempts."

Klaus scoffed in annoyance, if he'd been in front of her he'd have narrowed his eyes and stepped forwards threateningly but restricted to audio only, a scoff was the next best thing.

"The Salvatores are coming around for a peace talk," Klaus explained, "they have something still that belongs to me."

"The Salvatores," she mused, "just the Salvatores?"

"There will be other company."

"You undaggered Rebekah finally," she cheered, enjoying the glower of frustration she could picture Klaus pulling at her difficulty, she knew full well Elijah was who Klaus was skirting around and she wasn't going to make it easy for him.

"Rebekah won't be there."

"Hmm," she sighed, "best give it a miss, too much testosterone. Can't really be bothered to sit for dinner waiting till someone gets staked."

"You'll want to attend, the surprise I have for you is really quite -"

"Shall I take a gander," she prodded gleefully, "perhaps could the surprise be the thousand year old older brother of you Niklaus dearest, perhaps the soulmate to one Francesca Rossi."

"You spoke to him already," Klaus said, somewhat dejectedly, he'd already been planning the mischief that he could create by placing Elijah and Frankie at the same table with no prior warning to the other.

"Uh-huh," she nodded with a laugh, "thanks for the heads up by the way, you didn't think it might be good to know I'm basically a doppelgänger."

"You're not a doppelgänger, doppelgängers and soulmates are completely different-"

"Fascinating stuff," she cut him off, "unfortunately your supernatural grovelling will have to happen over alcohol that's not consumed at a kill Stefan Salvatore dinner party. I'm gonna take a no for that invitation, but I did say I'd call your brother, text me his number as part one of your apology."

"Part one?" Klaus scoffed again.

"You kidnapped me for six months," she retorted sweetly, "buck up kiddo you've got a long ladder to climb."

Frankie hung up the phone without waiting for his reply, turning to see her brother frozen in place, staring at her in surprise and disbelief, "Soulmates?" he spluttered out at last.

"Apparently," she sighed tucking the phone back in her pocket as she took another sip of her coffee, much less frozen in shock than the night before, "Damon undaggered Elijah yesterday and he came round to tell me what the big deal was last night. Apparently he fell in love with some doppelgänger of me in like the middle ages and is now like bonded to me or something," she rolled her eyes, tossing her hair behind her shoulders, "Kinda freaky but what do you expect with vampires and shit I guess."

"You're a doppelgänger of the girl Elijah is in love with and you let me complain about some missing weapons?" Alaric asked, still struck with disbelief that the sister he thought he'd exposed to the supernatural world was even more wrapped up in it than him.

Frankie shrugged, "I thought you needed to vent, killer girlfriend and all."

"Christ Frank," Alaric replied, raising a hand rub his forehead anxiously, "Are you alright?"

"What are you gonna do," she downed the remains of her coffee with a shrug, pulling her phone back out to see Klaus had sent her Elijah's number, "I should head to work, but good luck with the weapons, let me know if I can do anything. Thanks for the coffee."

Frankie grinned at her brother before grabbing her board and heading to the door with a wave. Her phone was in her hands as she skated to work, texting Elijah to ask if he wanted to come over for a drink after his dinner, too lazy to bother to call and too disinterested to attend Klaus' murder dinner.

Her shift passed uneventfully though Elijah did reply with a promise to come over and talk once his night ended. The day was shaping up to be a slow one until Elena Gilbert called her frantically, stressing that she needed to come over immediately. Fortunately the Grill was slow enough that her manager agreed with a wave of his hand and she slid out the door, skating to the Gilbert home, entirely unaware of what she'd encounter.

"'Lena," Frankie called when she finally made it to the Gilbert house. The lights were all off but the door had been left ajar, pushing it open she called out again, "'Lena you here?"

Suddenly Matt Donovan appeared at the top of the stairs with a flashlight. She liked Matt, they frequently worked together and she could normally have a good laugh with him but the expression that covered his face as he approached her made her blood run cold.

"You should come upstairs," he told her gruffly. Frankie nodded, less jovial than she normally was as she leant her board in the hallway, shutting the door behind her and heading up the stairs.

She realised halfway up the stairs that she was holding her breath. The house was in disarray, the pictures on the wall in chaos as though a body had been slammed against them and then she realised there were what looked like hand prints on the wall, hand prints that were certainly red and blood like. The whole scene as they went upstairs looked like something from a horror film and she could feel herself filling with dread, knowing why Elena had called her before she even reached her.

Matt didn't explain what was going on though his face was pulled into a grimace and she could see tinges of pink on his hands, as they reached the landing and saw the sight in front of them. Stepping aside to allow her too see, his brows furrowed, halfway torn between resting the flashlight on the body of her dead brother and shining it a little away so as not to overwhelm her.

"Ric?" Frankie choked out, her breath hitching in her throat as she stared in disbelief.

It was a moment before she recovered from the sight in front of her, before she pushed her panic away and forced herself to focus, to breathe and be alright. It was Alaric, he was laying covered in blood while Elena knelt beside him with tear stairs on her face and a bloody knife abandoned on the floor. Elenas face as she turned to her was filled with fear and guilt and, she could see her hands shaking where they sat on her knees, Matt's flashlight continued to flicker in concern and Frankie finally found her words to speak.

"What's going on?" she said quietly, sinking to her knees beside Elena, "What happened? Does he have his ring on?"

Elena nodded beside her, "We just found him like this," she stuttered out at last, "Not like this, but, someone stabbed him. We just came in and saw all the blood and we came up and-" Elena was tripping over her words as she let them tumble from her lips, so petrified by the events of the evening and so desperate to get to the punchline.

"Breathe 'Lena," Frankie said, settling her hand down on Elenas frantic hands, "What happened next?"

"He was conscious and so we were asking who did it but he didn't know," she took another shaky breath in now, terrified to tell Frankie she'd killed her brother, "His ring protects him from supernatural deaths, and I'm a doppelgänger, so-"

"So now we wait," Frankie said, panic was bubbling over in her body but her face remained impassive as she pushed it down and away. At some point her hand had settled on her brothers chest and it was now tinged pink like Matt's fingers but she paid no mind to it, instead interlacing her clean fingers with Elena's beside her.

Matt had gone downstairs with Frankies phone as a flashlight while she and Elena remained by her brother, finally returning when he managed to turn the power to the house back on, the lights flickering into life around them.

"He's still out?" Matt asked as he returned up the stairs, looking at Frankies stony face and Elenas frightened one.

Elena nodded in response while Frankie had stayed silent. She'd turned numb beside Elena, her eyes glazed over as she stared at her brother, counting each second he lay dead in front of her, counting the breaths she pushed out over and over.

"Will you stay with us?" Elena asked Matt, her face crumpling as tears began to well in her eyes, "Until he wakes up?"

"Of course," Matt agreed. He had no intentions of leaving until he knew Alaric was alive again and he certainly didn't intend on leaving neither Frankie nor Elena alone with a corpse.

"I can't," Elena started then broke off, looking to Frankie who still hadn't moved, "I just can't lose any more family."

Matt tugged Elena towards him, her hand falling loose from Frankie's as he pulled her into a hug. The loss of contact on her hand caused her eyes to flick up and she realised now that Elena was crying, she couldn't do much but she placed her hand on Elena's back, hoping that would be enough to comfort the teenager.

Eventually Elena was able to steady herself and she turned her focus to finding the culprit of the crime, pulling her phone out to dial the sheriff.

"Are you okay?" Matt asked, sliding closer to Frankie who hadn't moved since she sank down beside Alaric.

"I'm fine," she gave a stiff nod, "The ring protects him from supernatural deaths. Elena's supernatural, so he'll be fine."

Matt sighed but nodded, though they were close at work he never felt like Frankie exactly opened up to him. She enjoyed talking about music and books but when the discussions turned more personal she tended to close off, suddenly needing a drink of water or to check her phone. She never outright denied him when he tried to get closer but she wasn't exactly an open book, now still as he tried to pry about how she felt about her brother laying dead her face was impassive, cool and unbothered.

With a gasp, Alaric spluttered awake at last, Elena hung up the phone in an instant, collapsing beside them to grab Alaric's hand.

Frankie was the one to break the silence between them all, "Jeez Ric, you really had to top my soulmate thing and end the day with a bang didn't you?" she said with a light laugh, "I think you win for what to write home to dad about today."

Neither Elena nor Matt laughed, both confused as to what she was talking about but Alaric's face split into a pained grin, wincing as he pictured their father trying to comprehend any of what had happened to them in the past twenty four hours when at times he struggled with Harry Potter.

After a particularly persistent bout of convincing, Matt and Frankie eventually helped Alaric into the car as all four of them drove Alaric to the hospital to spend the night in observation. Although Frankie was well versed by now in watching Klaus or Damon compel innocent workers into skirting the rules she did find the concept of bringing her brother with a supernaturally healing wound a little ill thought out but regardless, she felt comforted by the knowledge that there were people here to keep him safe.

It was late when they eventually left the hospital, Frankie was fine to skate back to her brothers apartment but Elena had insisted on giving her a lift home. Just as they began to reverse from the parking lot, a bang sounded through the car causing Elena to skid to a halt, frightened of what she'd clearly just hit.

"What?" she muttered to Frankie, pulling the door open and climbing from the car nervously to see what had happened.

It was a moment before Frankie turned her head to check on Elena, only jumping from the car as she heard a second bang as something else was slammed to the door.

"Rebekah?" Frankie called out, surprised that Klaus had undaggered Rebekah and that she was here in her bloody prom dress, pressing Elena against the car by her neck.

"Frankie, darling," Rebekah cooed, turning to face her with a grin and her fangs showing, her hand not faltering on Elena's neck, "Don't be mad, she did drive a dagger through my heart you know. It hurt."

"She's a kid Rebekah," Frankie sighed, beginning to walk towards her when another figure appeared, pulling Rebekah from Elena and pressing her against the car instead, "You good?" Frankie asked Elena quietly, pulling her up and a pushing her behind her as they both kept their eyes on Rebekah in front of them.

"Elijah," Rebekah gasped out, she was panting in surprise while his hand circled her throat, holding her in place against the car.

"Leave," Elijah commanded her, staring sternly at her.

Rebekah was glowering back at Elijah and then after a moment he released her neck, a grin gracing his face as she stood towards him combatively.

"Are you challenging me?" he asked, his brows raising in amusement.

"You're pathetic," Rebekah spat, turning pointedly to Elena who was half blocked by Frankie, "both of you."

"Well," Elijah turned to Frankie with a smirk on his face, "It seems I needn't apologise for my late arrival, we both got a little tied up I presume."

"Will you be alright to get home?" Frankie asked Elena, turning to face her knowing she was likely still shaken from all of the events of the evening. Elena nodded numbly after a brief look of confusion between the two and Frankie smiled, helping her back to the car before pulling her board from the seat she once sat at, "Send me a message so I know you got home alright, okay?"

"You have blood on you," Elijah noted when the car began to pull away and they both turned to walk to her apartment, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Frankie sighed using her sleeve to rub her eyes, "It's not mine."

Elijahs brow furrowed, that wasn't a remotely comforting answer for him though he didn't press the issue further, nodding as they turned the corner. He turned the conversation lighter as they strolled through the streets, getting to know the one behind the face that he knew by heart.

"My mother returned this evening," Elijah told her as they approached her apartment and he held the door open for her to walk thorough.

"Wasn't she dead?" Frankie asked, grabbing drinks for them both before collapsing onto the couch.

"She was," Elijah nodded, "For a millennia. Klaus was the one who killed her, and as she was human we believed she was truly dead."

"Fuck," she said with her eyebrows raised in surprise, "Klaus killed your own mum?"

Elijah nodded again, "Tomorrow evening, she intends to throw a ball, to welcome the reunion of our family. If you would, I'd like to take you as my date."

"Oh," Frankie was surprised by his question, understanding why he'd been telling her about it all now, "I'm not really a ball type," she said, scratching her neck uncomfortably, "I think the only skirt I have is like a miniskirt that my friend makes me wear out when we're skint."

Elijah smiled at her candour, "I can take care of that."

"As friends?"

"If you wish."

"Okay," she agreed after a moment of consideration, "But if I'm dressing up all fancy, then you owe me one, you'll have to do something I like."

Frankie hadn't exactly decided on what she was going to push Elijah into but she figured if she was getting dressed up for him, then he'd have to return the favour and dress down for her. She wasn't sure what she'd make him do, she considered bowling but she didn't think the funny shoes were enough of a comparison to a ball gown, skating was a good consideration, or perhaps they could find the nearest coastline and she could push him into board shorts and a surfboard.

"That seems fair," Elijah agreed with a reluctant smile.

Francesca and Frankie were different people, but they were so similar it made his chest clench with longing. Even after centuries away from her he still recognised her grin as though it was tattooed into his soul, her laugh was the same but perhaps sometimes louder, and she was just as lively. Though Francesca had been quiet and coy, Frankie was more outspoken and openly playful, teasing and taunting like no other.

It was hard for him to separate the two and he knew his overpowering memories of Francesca weren't fair on Frankie who was thrust towards him against her will. He was pleased she was somewhat open with him at least, that she hadn't closed off the moment he'd told her who she really was to him. He wished he could skip all the steps between now and the moment he could hold her in his arms again but instead he held himself back, the master of control, not wanting to overburden her.