Zoey: Faith, are you okay?
Damon: You look a lot better.
Faith: About that...
Damon: What's wrong?
Faith hesitated, glancing at Stefan.
Stefan: The drug's side effects are still hitting her hard. It's making her super hungry, and she wants me around at all times to make sure she doesn't lose control... or go after Zoey.
Zoey: I can try to find a spell to fix this.
Faith: I'll be fine in a few days, Zoey.
Suddenly, Faith's face began to change—her fangs emerged, eyes darkened as her hunger surged.
Stefan quickly pushed her toward the door, keeping her away from Zoey.
Damon: What do we tell the people?
Stefan: Say we're helping her recover. Blame it on the drug's effects.
Zoey: Veronica is pushing this whole thing—she's determined to control who in this town can have kids. Sophie and I lied to her, but she found out, and we ended up going through the same thing Faith is now.
Damon: How do we stop her?
Stefan: Zoey, go talk to Pearl. Find out what you can.
Faith suddenly lunged toward Zoey, her instincts overwhelming her.
Damon caught her just in time, holding her back.
Zoey: I'm on it.
She hurried out the door.
AT PEARL'S HOUSE
Zoey knocked firmly.
Pearl opened the door, surprised.
Pearl: Zoey? I thought you left town.
Zoey: I did, but I'm back now. I need to know what kind of drug Veronica used on Faith.
Pearl sighed.
Pearl: I'm sorry... I have no idea what she used.
Zoey: Then can you at least get her to stop this nonsense?
Pearl: I can try.
Zoey: The drug is making Faith dangerously sick. Stefan wants to know exactly what she was given.
Pearl: I'm sorry about what happened to you and Sophie, too.
Zoey: Pearl, I need to stop her before Faith ends up dead.
Pearl: The mayor had no idea what happened—until I told him. Someone saw Stefan carrying Faith out, but he assumed she was just exhausted.
Zoey: She was drugged, and you know that! Why won't you talk to him?
Pearl: I tried, but he's too focused on Bob.
Zoey: Bob's still missing?
Pearl: Yes.
Zoey: Great...
Pearl: But I do want to stop Veronica.
Zoey: Then tell the mayor the truth—that Veronica drugged Faith.
Pearl: If I do that, she'll know it was me who exposed her.
Zoey: I don't care. She and Bob have been pushing this for too long, and we're all sick of it. We're on the verge of losing someone else in town because of her madness. This ends now. I won't stand by and watch my friends die just because your friend is bitter about not being able to have kids and is trying to force others into it. It's not right.
Pearl sighed.
Pearl: Fine... but if she finds out I exposed her, I'll be in trouble.
Zoey: Talk to your husband first. Then go from there.
Zoey didn't wait for a response—she turned and walked away.
IN THE WOODS
Stefan glanced back.
Stefan: You good back there?
Faith: Exhales . I almost lost it, though.
Stefan: I know, but you did well. You didn't lose control.
Faith: We should go deeper into the woods.
Stefan: Are you feeling any better?
Faith: Physically, yeah. But I'm still starving.
Stefan: I wish I knew what drug they used... maybe we could get an antidote.
Faith: I know, but at least it didn't mess with my emotions like you were worried about.
Stefan: True. Your sadness affects the bond a bit.
Faith: I know... I'm still trying to figure out how that works.
Stefan: It's simple—sadness is a strong emotion to begin with. Since everything is heightened for us, and because the three of us share that connection, it amplifies everything.
Faith: Yeah... makes sense.
Stefan smiled slightly.
Stefan: You'll get through this. One step at a time.
Faith nodded and walked a little further ahead, needing a moment to clear her mind.
INSIDE FAITH'S HOUSE
Zoey stepped back inside, her expression unreadable.
Damon: She's fine. Did you find anything out?
Zoey sighed.
Zoey: Not really.
Damon: So Pearl really has no clue what kind of drug was used?
Zoey: Yeah, she's completely in the dark.
Damon smirked.
Damon: I have an idea.
Zoey raised an eyebrow.
Zoey: I'm all for those.
Damon: I'll talk to Veronica.
Zoey: And by 'talk,' you mean cheat and compel her?
Damon grinned.
Damon: Of course. I can't have my sister like this.
Zoey: Do you need me to come with you?
Damon: Yeah, I do.
Zoey: Alright. We can go in a bit.
A sudden knock at the door made them pause. Zoey quickly slipped into another room as Damon went to answer it.
Standing at the door was a man Damon hadn't seen before.
Cal: Hi, I'm the new mayor of the town. I wanted to check in on Faith—see how she's doing.
Damon sighed.
Damon: She's not doing great. My cousin has been with her the whole time, barely leaving her side. I make sure he eats something, but that's about it. His wife means everything to him.
Cal nodded.
Cal: I understand. Well, let him know I'm handling the situation. Whoever did this to them won't get away with it.
Damon: Yeah... I'll let him know.
Cal: Can I see her?
Damon shook his head firmly.
Damon: No one is allowed to see her at the moment.
Cal: Well, I want to know what happened last night from your point of view.
Damon kept his expression neutral.
Damon: "I saw my cousin leaving with his wife."
Cal narrowed his eyes, clearly unsatisfied with the vague response.
Cal: And before that?
Damon crossed his arms.
Damon: Before that, she was with Veronica and Pearl. Whatever happened in that room, you'll have to ask them.
Cal sighed, rubbing his temple.
Cal: Veronica claims she did nothing wrong.
Damon let out a dry chuckle.
Damon: Of course, she did.
Cal: If there's anything else you think I should know, now's the time to say it.
Damon: All you need to know is that my cousin's wife was drugged, and now she's barely holding it together. You really want answers? Start with Veronica.
Cal: I'll look into it.
Damon: Good luck with that.
Cal left.
IN THE WOODS
Faith: I feel fine now.
Stefan: You sure?
Faith: Yeah, it took a bit for the drugs to wear off.
Stefan: Okay, you ready to head back now?
Faith: Yeah.
Stefan: If you feel like you can't control it, then head to the treehouse. I'll meet you there.
Faith: Okay.
Stefan: I'm sure Zoey misses talking to you.
Faith: Probably.
They made it back to the house.
INSIDE FAITH'S HOUSE
Damon: You just missed the mayor.
Faith: Yikes.
Damon: Veronica is covering up what she did.
Zoey: Faith, you feeling okay?
Faith: Yeah, I feel fine now.
Stefan: Damon, what's wrong?
Damon: Something's not right.
Faith: I'm fine, Damon.
Damon: Not you, Faith.
Stefan: Then what is it about?
Damon: Not sure.
Zoey: It can't be my mom.
Damon: It's not a witch.
Stefan: Could it be Enzo?
Damon: No.
Faith: Then who?
Damon: Not anyone I know.
Stefan: We'll figure this out, but we've got things to take care of first.
Zoey: Damon, let's head to Veronica's .
Damon: Right.
Stefan: Wait, you're going to compel her?
Damon: Yeah, I am. She can't get away with this. Zoey dealt with it, too, and I don't like how she's targeting the two of you. She already hurt Faith—I'm not letting it happen again.
Zoey looked at Faith, worry creeping into her expression.
Damon left.
Faith: I'll be fine, Zoey.
Zoey left
Stefan: Woah, that—
Faith: Yeah, that's new, but it's the old Damon we both miss.
Stefan: True.
Faith: You feeling okay?
Stefan: Yeah.
Faith: What has Damon feeling off then?
Stefan: Not sure, but it could be that he needs blood soon.
Faith: Could be, but it wouldn't mess with him like that.
Stefan: Not sure.
AT VERONICA'S HOUSE
Damon knocked on her door.
Veronica opened it.
Veronica: Hi, can I help you?
Zoey: We need you to confess to the mayor about what you did last night. I know you did something to Faith.
Damon: Veronica, Faith is sick now, and we know the last person she was with before that was you and Pearl. Pearl said she has no clue what happened after she left the room. I talked to her husband before he left to go find her.
Veronica: I don't know what you are talking about. Faith must have gotten drugged by someone else.
Damon looked straight into her eyes.
Damon: I need you to go tell the mayor what you did last night.
Veronica blinked.
Veronica: Will you excuse me? I'm going to talk to the mayor about something.
Zoey and Damon both left the house.
AT FAITH'S HOUSE
Damon opened the door.
Zoey: I can't believe you did that, Damon.
Faith came out of her room.
Damon: It needed to be done, okay?
Faith: I'm not saying anything.
Stefan: You compelled her?
Zoey: That he did—and woah, that's how that works?
Faith: Yeah, we look people in the eyes, tell them what we want them to do, and they do it.
Zoey: It's like a form of mind control?
Faith: Yeah, in a way, it is.
Faith went over and hugged Damon.
Damon was shocked and a bit taken aback that she hugged him.
Faith: Thank you.
Damon: No problem.
Stefan: Damon, is something still feeling off?
Damon: Yeah, but I can't place it.
Enzo walked into the house.
Enzo: I saw Veronica making her way to the mayor's house.
Damon: That was me.
Enzo: You compelled her?
Damon: I had to.
There was a knock at the door.
They all froze.
Damon: It's a human.
Stefan: Might be the mayor.
Damon: Might be.
Zoey: Stefan and Faith, go hide for now.
Stefan and Faith went into a nearby room.
Damon went and opened the door.
Cal: I was just informed by Veronica not long ago that she and Bob have been pushing some of the townspeople to have kids. Some of the women in town lied to her, and when she found out the truth, she did awful things to them.
Zoey: She's mad that she and Bob couldn't have kids. When she found out some of us in town could, she tried to force us to have kids. That's why some of the townspeople left town. They said they were going to help nearby towns—that was a lie to a certain extent.
Cal: Zoey, did she drug you as well?
Zoey: She didn't drug me, but she harmed me to find someone.
Cal turned to Damon.
Cal: Damon, how is Faith doing?
Damon: She's slowly recovering now, but it's best that we don't ask her questions yet.
Cal: Can I talk to Stefan?
Damon: This whole thing is taking a toll on him.
Cal: Oh... okay.
Damon: When Faith starts to feel better, I can have both of them talk to you.
Cal, Yeah, that would be a great help. You don't have to worry about Veronica—she's in jail right now.
Zoey "Great! That means we can start getting more people back in town.
Cal: We can try to, yeah.
Cal left the house.
Stefan came out of the room.
Damon: What's wrong?
Stefan: Not it, Damon.
Faith slowly stepped out of the room.
Zoey: I know you want to know, but it's something I'm not sure I'll ever be ready to talk about.
Faith: Shaking her head I can't believe she did this to other people in town. I mean... with me, it's different.
Damon: She's in jail. She still has no clue what happened to her husband yet.
Faith: That's the sad part.
Stefan: Faith, we can't blow our cover.
Faith: I know, but... can we make up a story to tell her?
The brothers exchanged a look.
Damon: We can, but it would probably make her feel worse than she does now.
Stefan: Faith, are you sure about this idea?
Faith: Yeah, she has to know something.
Damon: What do we tell her?
Faith We tell her that he died of poisoning from drinking too much.
Stefan: Nods That actually works.
Faith: I know what I'm doing here, okay?
Damon: What has you upset?
Faith: Quietly Don't want to talk about it.
Zoey: Faith, you have to talk about it."
Stefan looked at Faith, concern in his eyes.
Damon: Am I missing something?
Faith turned and walked away from them.
Stefan: Damon, think about it for a second.
Damon: Realizing But... that happened so long ago.
Stefan: It happened to her, and now she's thinking about that night—when it happened to Mom.
Damon: Softly Oh.
Zoey: What happened?
Stefan: Our mom was drugged one night by our father. She got sick the next day. The three of us knew something wasn't right that night. Faith came rushing into Damon's room and told him what she saw. I was in the room when she said something to him.
Zoey: So... her being drugged now is making her relive that night?
Stefan: Yeah.
Damon's jaw tightened. Then, without another word, he went after Faith.
AT THE TREEHOUSE
Faith sat on the bed, her arms wrapped around herself.
Damon climbed up the ladder, stepping into the dimly lit space.
Faith: Quietly I can't believe I let it happen to me.
Damon sat beside her.
Damon: You're okay, Faith. What happened that night wasn't right. We know how you feel about what happened to Mom. She made me and Stefan promise to keep you safe no matter what. It was my call to take us to Aunt Edith's house—it was the only way to keep all of us safe. Me and Stefan did the best we could. But you... you saw things no one else should have gone through.
Faith: Shaking her head Damon, it's not just that. It's the fact that I let it happen—that's what's getting to me. Stefan came up with a plan to stop it, but I wanted to do it my way. I wanted to put Veronica in jail. I had to let myself get drugged to make that happen.
Damon: Firmly And she's in jail now.
Faith: Yeah, but when it happened... it brought back that night. And it made me wonder—will I end up like Mom somehow?
Damon: Eyes darkening What? No way, Faith. You are nothing like Mom. Yeah, we've dealt with a lot, but you're stronger than she ever was. You don't take no for an answer. You're better at problem-solving than she was. You're not afraid to try new things, to take risks.
Faith looked at him, her eyes searching his for reassurance.
Faith: Softly "Thanks.
Damon: We should head back.
Faith: Yeah.
They left the treehouse and made their way back to the house.
INSIDE FAITH'S HOUSE
As soon as they stepped inside, Stefan pulled Faith into a hug.
Faith: I'm going to be in my room.
Faith silently went into her own room.
Damon turned to Stefan, watching him closely.
Damon: I know you've got something to say.
Stefan: Shrugging slightly Not really.
Damon: Narrowing his eyes You okay?
Stefan: Nods Yeah, I'm fine. It's just... I knew you would help her. That's why I let you go after her. She's seeing the change in you, and I'm seeing it too.
Damon: Pausing for a moment Oh... okay.
Stefan: I mean, some of what you said to her—I would have said it myself.
Damon: Yeah, but she told me you had another plan in place at the ball.
Stefan: Sighing I did, but I let Faith do her thing so we could get Veronica in jail somehow.
Damon: Okay.
A FEW DAYS LATER
There was a knock at the door.
Damon opened it to find Cal standing there.
Cal: Is Faith doing better now?
Damon: Yeah, she's a lot better now.
Faith and Stefan emerged from one of the rooms.
Cal: I need to talk to you both
Stefan: We figured you want to know what happened that night from our points of view
Cal: yeah that is right. I wanted to start with Faith if that is ok with you two.
Faith: I was chatting with Pearl and Veronica, and at some point, Pearl left the room. After she left, Veronica handed me a drink she had. After I took a sip, I passed out. When I woke up, I was here. I was weak and barely able to do things on my own—I had my husband help me.
Cal: Turning to Stefan From your point of view, what happened that night?
Stefan: I let my wife talk to her friends, and they went off to a room. The next thing I knew, I saw Veronica leaving that room. When I went in, I found my wife passed out on the floor. As I was carrying her out, my cousin Damon saw me and asked what happened. I brought her home, but she was still out cold. Damon later found out from Pearl that Faith had been drugged.
Cal: Nodding I know you've been told by now that I dealt with Veronica and that she's in jail.
Faith: Yeah, Damon told us a few days ago.
Cal: Sighing I'm truly sorry for Veronica's actions. I know you both understand why she did it.
Stefan: She wanted me and my wife to have kids and be part of our family. Faith and I have talked about it, and we've chosen not to have children.
Cal: So you do understand her reasoning then.
Faith: Yeah, we do.
Cal: Okay
Cal gave them a small nod before turning and leaving the house.
Damon: Yikes.
Faith: What?
Damon: You two kept the story so believable.
Faith: That was the point, Damon.
Damon: I know, but it's just still... ugh.
Stefan: What's so 'ugh'?
Damon: That we have to lie and make up things.
Faith: We have to. You know that.
Damon: I know, but doesn't it gross you two out that you have to act like husband and wife?
Faith: it's not our first time, Damon. It still grosses me out a bit.
Damon: What?
Stefan: Me and Faith did it when we were in New York. That's why we ran up there to get the ring.
Damon: Whoa, I never thought you two would do it more than once.
Faith: Stefan came to town and said he was my husband. I had to play along with it after that.
Damon: I get it, but you two just take the idea to another level.
Faith: What?
Damon: We know the drugs were supposed to make you want to have kids, Faith.
Faith: Yeah.
Damon: We could have Zoey find a spell to make it look like that's happening—to make the town believe it.
Stefan: One downfall of that idea, Damon. They'd want to see the baby.
Faith: We tell them I had a miscarriage.
Stefan: Not sure about that idea.
Zoey: Walking in "Damon, we could somewhat do the idea, but Stefan has a point."
Faith: I really don't want to do that. That would mean I'd have to act upset when I break the news.
Stefan: What's wrong with that?
Damon: Pausing "Ohh.
Faith: Quietly I can't pull it off... It's a reminder of Mom. Stefan, after she had you, she had a miscarriage with another baby.
Stefan: Frowning "You mean to tell me she wanted another kid with that bastard?
Faith: It wasn't her choice. She was drugged when he wanted to try for another kid. He was hoping for another son since he was mad she had me.
Damon: Shaking his head "Never mind then.
Faith: That's why I'm saying no to this plan.
Zoey: Then what do we do?
Faith: We told the mayor it just made me sick.
Stefan: We go with that then.
Damon: Okay.
Zoey: Faith, we need to talk.
Faith: What's wrong?
Zoey: Treehouse?
Faith: Okay.
They went to the treehouse.
AT THE TREEHOUSE
Zoey: I know this is not the best idea, but I would like to know more about what you are.
Faith: Why?
Zoey: In case I meet other vampires, I can maybe help them out.
Faith: Most other vampires are going to use you against their enemies or to do things you have no business doing.
Zoey: Really?
Faith: Yeah, I've seen it happen before.
Zoey: Is that why you don't share much about what you are?
Faith: I have a lot of reasons. That is just one of them.
Zoey: So you're really going to keep me in the dark?
Faith: I'm doing it to keep you safe. The reason being, if any other vampires find you, then they will do God knows what to you—and they'll probably just feed on you and drain you without thinking twice about it.
Zoey: Really?
Faith: Yeah, really. I almost did it a few nights ago. Damon stepped in your way since he got the sense I was going to drain you. I was fighting it.
Zoey: So I really can't know any more than what I know?
Faith: Yeah. It's for your own safety.
Stefan climbed up the ladder to join them.
Zoey: Stefan?
Stefan: "Hi."
Zoey: Can you tell Faith it's okay for me to know more about vampires?
Stefan looked at Faith.
Faith sent him a thought.
Faith, You heard my reasons and they are solid—you know that. When we had the run-in with Klaus and Elijah, they had a witch with them.
Stefan, I know, but Faith, this is your friend. She helped you a few days ago.
Faith, I know, but we need her safe from what she could be getting herself into.
Stefan, I can see what I can do. But are you and Damon leaving soon?
Faith, Crap—I forgot about that.
Faith: Zoey, I won't be here tomorrow and for the next week. I'll be safe. I'll be with Damon—we'll be in London for a bit, getting my things and his.
Zoey: You forgot to tell me?
Faith: Yeah, I talked to Damon already.
Zoey: When you're back, we are talking about this again.
Faith: Okay.
Stefan: Faith, you should at least pack a bag.
Faith sighed.
The three of them headed into the house.
INSIDE FAITH'S HOUSE
Damon: We are leaving in the morning.
Stefan: Whoa—before you get mad, me and Damon talked it over. We're doing this the non-cheat way.
Faith: I'm not mad.
Damon: The mayor is still looking for Bob.
Faith: So we're going to keep a low profile then.
Stefan: I'll tell anyone who asks about you two that you got sick.