As Ana and Damon marched into the grill, spotting John, Elena grabbed onto Damon's arm. "We just need answers. Please don't do anything stupid... either of you."

"Yeah, but stupid is so much more fun." Damon groaned, gazing at John from across the Mystic Grill.

Ana smirked strutting forward, but Elena caught her hand. "Please?"

"Ugh, fine." Ana grunted, trying to break away from Elena as Damon got a head start towards Alaric and Jenna's table.

"John, buddy... how you been?" Damon asked, the fakest smile plastered on his face as he strolled on around to face the old Gilbert.

John looked down, hiding his smirk. "I've been all right, Damon. It's good to see you."

★·'¯'·★

"So, John, rumor has it, you know a lot and won't say anything." Damon spoke into the Gilbert's ear, close behind while John lit candles for the memorial.

Ana remained close by, using her vampire hearing to listen into their conversation and hear anything that John might be telling them.

Not even blinking, John replied "How do I know you can be trusted, Damon? I know your Petrova friend is listening into our conversation right this minute. Hello, Ana."

Huffing in annoyance, Ana marched right down to where John stood and stared him right in the eye, frustrated with how cynical the older man could be. "Now I'm here, will you tell us what you know?"

"Well, this shouldn't be a surprise to you, seeing as you were engaged to an original," John stated shifting his stare to Damon and beginning "But Originals can compel vampires. According to Stefan, that's why Katherine is still in the tomb, because an original has compelled her to stay there."

Damon raised an eyebrow at Ana, who shrugged. Frowning momentarily, Damon continued "Only because all of the vervain had left her system. Stefan, Ana and I, on the other hand, are chock full."

John watched Damon blow out a match, asking "You guys are drinking vervain?"

"Yup." Ana replied, grinning. "In fact, I'm pretty sure I consume more vervain than blood, right now. Who knew?"

"It's an acquired taste." Damon added, nodding his head towards Ana. "I don't see that magical ring on your stitched finger, so if you know something about Klaus, you better start talking, or I will kill you in your sleep."

The last part was whispered, but obviously with Ana's vampire hearing she heard the whole thing. It was rather delightful to hear, too.

After Damon pulled away, John replied "Now, is that any way to convince me that you and I are on the same side?"

"And me." Ana coughed, but her comment was ignored by John as he gave her a glare.

"First, I need to know that I can trust you, Damon, that I can count on you. Then we'll talk. And you," John turned to Ana, a frown tight on his lips as he gazed at the young-looking vampire. "We will never talk."

As John strolled off, Ana turned to Damon with narrowed eyes "How rude. Don't they tell you to respect your elders?"

★·'¯'·★

Sat at the bar, Ana played with the straw in her whiskey, feeling Damon's eyes burning into her. They were both incredibly bored, sitting at the bar, yet Ana found that Damon was quite pleasant for company, despite the creepy way he gazed at her.

"So my friend wants to meet you." Ana heard from behind her, and she turned to see Jenna heading straight for Damon with the newswoman close behind her. "Damon Salvatore, this is-"

"I know you- the news lady." Damon finished, his hand still wrapped around his glass of bourbon as he stared up at the lady with an open mouth.

The woman nodded, letting her eyes wander over Ana before shifting her gaze back to Damon. "Yeah, Andie Star. Nice to meet you. Can I buy you a drink, Damon?"

"Uh, no, it's fine." Damon waved a hand, wrapping his arm around Ana's waist and pulling her forward, causing the vampire to shoot him a glare. "My girlfriend has already bought me one. Thanks, anyway."

Ana gave Damon a look of disbelief, as Andie muttered "Oh. I'll, uh... see you around, I guess."

Jenna glanced between the two before walking away, thinking about how young Ana was compared to Damon. If only she knew...

"What was that about?!" Ana whisper-shouted, feeling Elena's eyes on her. "Last time I checked, I was single."

"Look, I only told her that to shut her up. We don't want any more humans involved in this, do we? Just go along with it for now, Ana, it'll be an excuse for why we're spending so much time together." Damon grunted, leaning over the counter and speaking in a low voice so nobody could hear.

Giving Damon a skeptical look, Ana just hummed, getting up from her seat and gesturing for Damon to follow.

As the pair of them headed out of the bar, Elena pulled them to one side, asking "You're a thing?"

"What can I say? Ana is the apple to my eye." Damon muttered sarcastically, giving a fake smile to Ana.

"Wow. Well, I, uh, hope you guys are happy." Elena replied, obviously taken back by their sudden relationship, but Ana didn't have the energy to keep correcting everyone, so she merely nodded, forcing a smile at Elena.

The doppelganger's phone started ringing, and Elena reached to answer it, saying "Stefan?" Her expression changed as she listened to whatever Stefan had to say. "What is it?" Elena gazed up at Ana and Damon with wide eyes.

★·'¯'·★

"Why am I just finding out about this now?" Damon snapped at Elena in the bathroom, and Ana watched from the sidelines, amused.

Elena shrugged, replying "Stefan was worried that you-"

"That I would what, what I would kill him?" Damon asked, his blue eyes looking even more striking whilst they were widened in anger. "Of course. That's what needs to happen."

"No, Damon, not Tyler." Elena frowned at the male vampire, shaking her head. "Do whatever you need to do to get Caroline back, but just leave Tyler out of it, okay?"

Ana stepped forward, her arms crossed as she added "What makes this Tyler kid so special? He's a werewolf, Elena. Do you know what that means? It means that he's fatal to us vamps."

"Exactly." Damon stressed, standing next to Ana and grinning at Elena "He's a werewolf. He needs to die, I'm willing to kill. It's a win-win."

"Damon, please, okay?" Elena pleaded, giving him the puppy-dog eyes. "Too many people are dead."

Damon flashed his eyes at Elena, saying "You need to stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

Tilting his head at Elena, Damon stated "Assuming that I'll play the good guy because it's you who's asking. I'm a taken man, Elena. The only person I say yes to is my girlfriend."

Masking her utter annoyance with the whole situation, Ana marched over to Damon and turned him round by the shoulders, telling him "Damon, try not to kill anyone. Okay?" The vampire winked to make Damon more relaxed, and Ana could feel Elena watching the encounter silently.

Before anyone could say anything, John stormed into the toilets, and Damon turned slowly, saying "Do you mind?"

"What's going on?" John demanded, looking between the three people.

Ana smirked, replying "Damon wanted to see what it's like to court the other Petrova sister." Ana couldn't lie, she was actually enjoying the attention from Damon, and seeing how weird Elena was acting about it.

"I think that's just a cover story. Elena?" John turned to his daughter, snarling at Ana.

Damon whipped himself around, glaring at the Gilbert. "Well, guess what, John. Trust works both ways. Get out."

"Look. We don't have time for this." Elena told Damon, her eyebrows knit in earnest. "We need to get Caroline back."

"You don't need to do anything. Me and Ana will take care of it." Damon snapped back, looking at Elena firmly.

Raising an eyebrow at Damon, Ana said "We will?"

"Yes, we will." Damon grabbed Ana's hand, dragging her behind him, before turning to John. "First dad duty- ground your daughter. Keep her here."

★·'¯'·★