Charlotte Salvatore was pulled from the Other Side with a tug that ricocheted through her whole body causing her to wake with a gasp. There was a witch, Bonnie, above her chanting though she broke off at the sound of Charlottes gasp, a giggle of surprise tumbling from her lips instead.

Bonnie had been there for more than an hour, changing hopefully and then desperately, mentally debating at what point did she give in and admit defeat. She'd been confident at first but after a time, the excitement diminished and even the Salvatore brothers had left the room, unable to stand by and watch her failure, their hope at the thought of their sisters return dwindling.

"Holy shit," Bonnie muttered with a laugh of disbelief, "I can't believe it worked."

She'd told the Salvatore brothers that she could do it, that she could pull Charlotte from the curse but quite honestly she didn't know if it was a reality or a fantasy.

Rather than replying to Bonnie, Charlotte pulled her into a tight hug. She wanted to thank the witch but she knew she'd have no hope finding words strong enough to say what she felt. It took a moment before the witch relaxed into her grasp but then it happened, her arms tightening too, understanding without words what she was telling her.

Stefan and Damon were there seconds later, they'd both felt their hearts sink when Bonnies chanting stopped, the giggle that followed after after baffling them. No sooner did the two girls separate than Charlotte was pulled up into a hug between her brothers. She could feel the tears streaming down her face even as she wanted to laugh with relief, just as Bonnie had.

All three Salvatores were reunited at last.

Stefan and Damon had endured a century and a half thinking their sister was killed on the night they were, believing they knew with certainly that without Katherines blood in her system there was no way she could recover.

Charlotte had been on the Other Side all this time, a non-supernatural being caught in a supernatural realm, watching the world go by. She'd spent a century and a half without feeling another person touch her skin, the constant cold of absolute isolation. With her brothers puling her tight, she felt overwhelmed with emotion, finally safe and warm and alive.

She was finally home.

Bonnie slipped from the room as the siblings embraced. She did want to talk to the girl, learn about what she'd been through but it wasn't the time nor her place. Her curiosities were nothing compared to the loss they'd endured for a century and a half and she knew the family needed their own space.

When they separated from their hug, there was a stillness that hung over the room. They were all a little shaken, the emotion hanging over them, both brothers with a silent terror that with a blink of an eye she might disappear once more.

"It's odd over there," Charlotte explained, speaking for the first time in a century, "on the Other Side, it's like I'm here in this room, but if I try to speak or touch anyone, no one can feel or see. You couldn't talk to anyone at all, people who are alive can't see you, and you can't see anyone on the Other Side with you. I watched you guys when I could. Sometimes it was too hard, I missed you and it was too much to bear, but often I was there," at this Charlotte paused, she wanted the mood to lighten, her brothers both clutched a hand each and had expressions that still seemed to doubt her presence, "Damon I don't know how you got it so wrong but that 80's hair did not suit you."

Damon screwed his mouth up in annoyance, "Oh yeah? Did you see Stefan in the 90's that was brutal."

"Grunge!" Charlotte exclaimed with a laugh. Stefan watched the siblings with amusement, he was relieved to have his sister back. So relieved in fact, that Stefan for a moment he'd forgotten the horrific theme of the day, the fact that his girlfriend was due to be sacrificed that evening.

Elena Gilbert and Elijah Mikaelson stood in the doorway, both watching with curiosity at the siblings, the middle of whom had fallen silent at their arrival. Charlotte knew why they were here, what was happening this evening, about the sacrifice and the problem of the doppelgänger, the moonstone and the hybrid.

Too she knew why Elijah's eyes shifted distrustfully over to Damon and then less so to Stefan before returning to her with a hint of fascination. Charlotte knew Elijah, she'd been following him for several weeks, but he certainly didn't know her.

"Oh my god Bonnie did it," Elena whispered, awestruck and delighted. She knew the doubts that her best friend had had and she couldn't believe that it had really worked.

"Hello," Charlotte waved from the couch, "Elena, goodness."

She wasn't quite sure the proper introductory etiquette when meeting your baby brothers doppelgänger girlfriend who was identical to his ex girlfriend. It seemed Elena didn't quite know how to greet her either, stumbling out a weak "hello" as she walked over to sit beside Stefan, her knees seeming to give way beneath her as she reached the couch.

The three Salvatores and Elena were all sat on the couch together when Elijah cleared his throat to declare attention return to him. He was dressed in a suit and his hair was combed back, smiling cordially before introduced himself.

Elena hadn't mentioned anything about Charlotte in their time together and he was intrigued, taking in her century old attire combined with her clearly beating human heart. Certainly it could be a costume but in the supernatural world the easiest answer was rarely the truth and he was fascinated to learn more.

Charlotte rose and approached him, "Elijah, the pleasure is mine," she said as she took his hand, "Charlotte Salvatore, I trust you will not betray my brothers in this deal."

Politeness was imperative when meeting strangers, Charlotte felt willing to work with him for now and so she saw no reason to treat Elijah with anything other than respect. She knew her brothers were divided on this and she took each of their perspectives to heart. Their perspective was warped however unlike her own, and while Elijah certainly seemed noble, she'd been there when Elena had been kidnapped after the ball. She had followed along and it was her who'd been there, not her brothers, while he left Elena unhurt, she remembered the ease with which he'd killed the vampire Trevor. The way he'd seemingly betrayed his word that he promised mere minutes earlier before pointing out the trickery in his words that kept him truthful.

The devil is in the details

There was nothing for her to say against Elijah for now, she trusted her brothers and their tentative truce with him. She'd stay silent, but she knew she wouldn't forget the image of Trevors head as it was swung clean from his body.

Acquiescing with amusement at her boldness, Elijah gestured to the couches, indicating for her to sit again in order to discuss the plan. As he reiterated it once more, Charlotte felt the reality of it all hitting her once more. She'd listened to her brothers and Elena discuss and argue over the sacrifice time and again but it was bizarre for her to be here with them in reality, to be listening in and knowing that she too could contribute rather than just observe.

A hush fell over the room as Elijah explained the final portion of the plan, the one element that hadn't been discussed before and that caused all of their hearts to skip a beat with terror.

Klaus had to drink Elena's blood to the point of her death.

Charlotte's eyes flicked instantly to her brothers, watching the way Stefan reached for Elenas hand and Damons face screwed up in pain. Elena wasn't Katherine, Charlotte could see the way her face steeled itself for the sacrifice. She was a child just as Katherine was, and she was scared just as Katherine had been but she was here, she wasn't running, instead she would give herself up for her family.

They were all in a still, sickening silence that felt heavier the longer it sat and so Charlotte stood from her seat, pushing herself to her feat and turning to Damon. Elena and Stefan needed a moment to process their grief and Charlotte was a little worried that Damon would react poorly without any intervention.

"Damon, can you show me your bath and let me change from these clothes?" she asked, less of a question and more of a statement, "I'm no help being here and I've heard you all discuss this over and over. It's not my place to be part of this."

Damon allowed this reluctantly, only barely allowing her to pull her from the room, the grip of her hand on his grounding him. His whole body felt ill at the thought of the sacrifice and he was finding it hard to resist from punching the wall at any given moment. Any jubilation he'd felt at his sisters return felt diminished by the plan going ahead. Charlotte didn't hold it against him nor Stefan, they'd have endless days to catch up once they got past this horrific blip and kept the girl they loved safe.

It was clear what Charlotte was doing, she wanted to pull Damon from the chaos. Stefan and Elena had one another to ground themselves, a partner with whom to face the horrific but Damon was alone in his rage. She'd pulled him away to comfort him but too because she worried he'd say something rash.

As they entered the room, Charlotte sank to the bed, watching as he left to draw her a bath before returning to his dresser. His back was to her as he fiddled with something, she presumed it was likely Vervain but she didn't ask, waiting patiently for him to be ready.

"Wear this Charlie," he turned to her, holding out a necklace and confirming her assumptions, "with a town full of vampires, good to be prepared. I haven't got enough right now for you to put in a tea but we can pick some up from my buddy after tonight. Wearing it isn't the best but it'll do for a day."

"Thanks."

Nodding with a weak smile he turned away again, pulling out a pair of trousers and a belt alongside a shirt for her to wear. His face screwed up apologetic as he passed it to her, suddenly reminded of how ill prepared he was for her return, guilty that he didn't have things already there for her.

"Elena can bring something that fits you later," he promised, wincing at the uncertainty of later.

"Don't," Charlotte caught his arm softly, "remember Damon I couldn't wear trousers all my life. I'm not quite sure I'm ready to wear ones like hers so soon."

Charlotte was referring to the jeans which clung to Elena's body like a second skin. Raised in the 19th century, she knew that wearing pants in public was sure to be unusual enough. The thought then of wearing wearing pants quite so tight made her uncomfortable and a little anxious.

Nodding, he tried to push the worry from his face at the chaos spinning in his mind. Running a hand through his hair in frustration, he handed the clothes and necklace to her, pressing a kiss to her cheek before leaving the room for her to undress.

For the first time in a hundred and forty years, Charlotte pulled her dress from her body with great relief. For centuries as she'd watched the world go by she'd donned the heavy cumbersome dress. Whilst she felt uncertainty about the clothing she was now to wear, she was excited to experience the mobility of the modern world.

Everything about this new world was different, even the bath that she sunk into with relief and delight.

The water around her was so warm that steam billowed and engulfed her. Bubbles surrounded her in the water and Charlotte smiled, overcome with happiness as she sunk deeper into the water. She couldn't believe how real it all felt. The warmth of the water on her skin, the feeling of her brothers hands as they had clutched hers. Even the way her hair floated around her, tickling her shoulders as she rinsed out Damons shampoo.

The shampoo itself was scented with vanilla. The smell was sweet and soft, and it lingered long after she'd rinsed it away, as did the scent of the soap he had. Liquid soap like this hadn't been around in her day. She knew what to do of course, it was fairly straightforward as she'd read on the bottle but it was certainly bizarre rubbing a gel over her body rather than the slippery bar she was used to.

She could hear a door slam downstairs followed by a series of shouts. Unsure of the commotion she rinsed a final time before reluctantly standing from the warm bath. As wonderfully indulgent as the bath had been, she wanted to support her brothers as she knew they would support her and she knew she'd have plenty of time to rest after this day passed.

Pulling Damon's clothes on was a relief. She'd washed her undergarments before her bath and already they'd dried having been left in the sun by the window. The clothes that had been lent her were simple, a pair of black trouser and a black t-shirt, both Damons of course. The shirt was cotton, soft and stretchy, it was warm on her skin as she pulled it over her own undergarments.

The trousers next were an unusual situation, she wasn't unfamiliar with them necessarily, but she'd never had the opportunity to wear them herself with a strict father and her litany of governesses. Pulling them over her legs, they were much too large on her shorter frame, she was only 19 and with a life primed to make her into the perfect wife, she had a small frame that had grown up stuffed into corsets and skirts.

She could hear that the yelling below her quieted and she heard them retire to the living room to talk. Even without hearing the conversation she knew what the argument had been over and her heart twinged with sadness for the pain her brothers were going through.

Tucking her shirt into the trousers, she pulled the belt tight around her waist and rolled the cuffs of her trousers enough so she wouldn't trip before standing satisfied with herself. Unrolling the long pair of socks he'd given her, she made her way to the mirror of the bathroom, searching in the drawers below she found a hairbrush which she tugged through her long hair. She did her best to remove any knots before rubbing the towel through it again and tugging it behind her ears away from her face. Down, away from her face was the style these days, it felt nice to be able to brush and ignore her hair.

Returning the brush and her towel to their place she realised she could hear Elena talking to Damon in his bedroom outside.

"I can't lose you," she heard Damon say, his voice soft and desperate.

Charlotte retreated a little, moving to sit on the edge of the bath doing her best to give her brother what privacy she could.

"You won't," a soft whisper replied.

Charlotte felt the guilt at her intrusion on this private moment bubble up and she fiddled with her fingers as she waited uncomfortably.

"There is another way," Damon said, a sharpness to his tone, silence and then a scream as Elena began to cry out in pain or anguish.

Charlotte tore from the bathroom just in time to see Stefan speeding into the room, grabbing Damon he pulled him away from Elena, throwing to the wall. Elena was on the floor, gagging and coughing with tears in her eyes and blood around her mouth. It was obvious what had been done and Charlotte looked to Damon, who's face was stoic and decided, with horror.

"I saved her life," Damon defended when Stefan turned his back to him, comforting Elena instead, "You're bent on dying, this way I know you'll come back."

"As a vampire," Stefan argued standing from the floor, "She'll come back as a vampire."

"It's better than nothing else."

Charlotte could hear the heartbreak in Damons voice, the desperation that seeped through with every world and her brow furrowed. Beside her Elena let out another small cry of despair that caused Stefan to wince and clutch her tighter.

"Go ahead," Damon goaded the pair mercilessly, "wish me an eternity of misery. Believe me, you'll get over it."

Stefan rushed towards Damon, he tackled him to the ground as they battled. Charlotte couldn't believe her eyes as she watched her brothers argue with a ferocity she'd never known. Stefan was on top, punching Damon with a brutality she couldn't believe and then Damon had a stake and before Charlotte could speak, it was plunged into Stefans stomach.

Elena rushed to Stefans side while Charlotte approached Damon cautiously. His face was bloody and when she reached out to grab his shoulder, he ripped it away and stood from her.

The history teacher, Alaric, and Elena's aunt, Jenna, clearly the two newcomers who'd arrived while she bathed, rushed into the room. Alaric took charge of the situation, sending Jenna for blood bags as Damon sped from the room.

Charlottes arms were crossed against her body while her fingers tapped anxiously on her sides. She'd watched her brothers their entire vampire life from the other side. She'd seen their arguments and the atrocities that they committed but she'd never seen them fight like this. Never seen one allow their anger to hurt the other this badly, never seen them willing to kill one another.

Stefan was sipping from the blood bag now with Elena hanging on his wide with worry just as he had for her moments earlier. Alaric left the room after Jenna and then too Charlotte slipped from the room, confirming her brother was okay with a final glance before slipping from the room.

Travel for her was a little more difficult now than it had been on the Other Side when she could appear practically instantaneously wherever she wanted but she'd managed to corner Alaric as he left to follow Damon and joined his search. The pair hadn't had to search far through the town, finding Damon at their first stop, the bar of the Mystic Grill, the place where now all three sat.

Momentarily she'd wondered if she'd receive any funny looks all donned in Damons clothes, his too long socks had been pulled on alongside a pair of worn out lace up boots which surprisingly fit. She'd found them peaking inside his closet alongside a sparkly dress that she didn't want to know the origin of. No one seemed to glance at her however when she settled herself at the bar beside her brother who let out an unconscious sigh of relief at her presence.

"I screwed up," he said dejectedly, the guilt catching up to him with a crescendo.

Her hand landed on his arm that was clutching his drink and her thumb pulsed back and forth. She couldn't exactly deny what he was saying but she stayed silent, doubtful that her speaking up in agreement would do anything to help.

"Yeah," Alaric agreed, "yeah you did."

Before Charlotte could scold him or Damon could reply, a voice interrupted chipperly from Damon's side, "Gentlemen, why so glum?"