The glare of the sun was almost blinding. It was bright rays were as harsh as there were dazzling and Liesel had to shield her eyes in order to give them time to adjust. It took a few moments but her eyes eventually adjusted and Liesel could see that she was in on the outskirts of Mystic Falls. She could spot Wickery Bridge in the distance and Liesel was facing in the direction that you would drive to head into town. The question now was, why was she here? Liesel had never come to this far outside of Mystic Falls, as much as she hated the crappy little town that was her home, it was home and she felt comfortable there. For her, there was never a need to leave Mystic Falls. The closest Liesel had ever come to the outskirts of town was when she was heading to the Salvatore Boarding House. Yet for some reason she was here, standing on the other side of Mystic Falls all by herself.

Or so she thought.

Liesel was taken off guard by this cold and tingling sensation going up her back, it was like a small shock and glancing at her arm, she could see all the hair on her arm were sticking up. Someone was here. They were close by. No… They were behind her. For some reason Liesel felt on edge, it seemed like her heart was going to leap out of her chest, but she was going to be okay. Well, that's what she was telling herself as this wasn't real. She had no recollection of getting here so that meant this had to be another premonition or even a dream, or worse it could be precognitive dream. Whatever it was, Liesel was certain that nothing could hurt her here. You couldn't die in dreams and there was no way she could die in a premonition. But then again, with Liesel's luck she would probably be the one to prove that all wrong.

There was nowhere to run, no where to hide.

Whatever it was that was behind her Liesel had to face, so taking a deep breath she slowly turned around and what she came face to face with, surprised Liesel more than she could have ever imagined. It was her. Well it wasn't her but then it was her. It was future self. A Liesel older than she had ever seen herself before. This one, this Future Liesel was a few years older than her current self, at least in her early twenties at by guess as her face looked just a little bit older but all her features remained the same more the less. Yet there was no permanent scowl on her face, but a content smile and her eyes looked like they had seen too much for someone so young but they were so bright and clear, full of hope and possibility. For Liesel, it was like she was seeing her mother's exact eyes in her future self. Her future self still seemed intent on wearing all black although there was no louder than life Hawaiian shirt, just a simple black dress. So some things had changed but not much. But what bothered Liesel the most was the fact that she could swear that her future self was looking right at her, as if she could see her. But that couldn't be possible? Could it?

"Chill out Liesel, I can't see you but I know your here… You aren't losing your mind and you most certainly have not crossed other to another plane. It's going to take a fair while before you actually manifest the ability to astral project, I mean we're good but we aren't that good yet. At least you aren't. Don't worry, this isn't personal gain either. This may not make much sense but we are connected to each other, just like on a subconscious level you are connected to every other Heindeck psychic, you are connected to me. You will be me one day and I once was you. But this is most certainly a premonition, you need to see this because what happens after will change everything." Future Liesel explained and Liesel just dumbly nodded as whilst she had no idea what was going on, it seemed like future her had more than a good idea of what was going on.

"What's wrong Lees?"

That voice. Liesel would know it any where.

It was Stefan. Liesel hadn't seen where he had come from but now he was standing right next to her future self, dressed in a the same formal manner as Future Liesel with a smart navy suit although his tie was hanging loosely. Naturally he looked the same as when Liesel had last seen him in the present. The perks of having a vampire as a best friend. He would never age. Although she would and Liesel had to admit that it was a little weird to see her future self with the future Stefan as now they weren't physically the same age. She was older than him now and would continue to get older whilst he stayed the same.

"Whoever said any thing was wrong?"

Liesel couldn't help but roll her eyes, even she knew that was the biggest lie on the planet and this was coming out of own mouth. Or rather her future selves mouth. She couldn't help but wonder if she had always been such a terrible liar?

"Today is supposed to be the crowning achievement in your young adult life, your graduating college today. It's meant to be the best day of your life and yet you had me drive you all the way here. I'm not the psychic or the empath here and I don't need our bond to tell me that something is bothering you Liesel. Talk to me." Stefan replied, giving Future Liesel a small nudge and even though Liesel saw her future self roll her eyes, she could see the smile that her older self was trying in vain to hide.

"I'm pretty sure that graduating college is meant to be the best day of your life when you are normal person and we established a long time ago, that I am far than normal. For me, this whole pomp and circumstance of graduating is just some formality. It can't be the crowning achievement in my life if I have the ability to see the future and change events in order to better the world." Future Liesel began before pausing to let out a deep sign and Liesel could only watch as the smile slipped off the face of her future self, only to be replaced with a look that could only be described as the physical personification of despair. "There were a time where I thought that we wouldn't make it to this point, so much has happened over the last few years. We survived so much and yet lost as much at the same time. I keep wondering whether I could have down things different. Even after I play the scenarios in my head, and see what would have happened if I made difference choice. I still can't help but wonder."

"You once told me that having the foresight is both a gift and curse at the same time." Stefan stated and Future Liesel scoffed, a hint of a laugh trailing closely behind it as her eyes wondered back of to Liesel for the briefest moment.

"Can I tell you something? It's why I made you bring me here, I know you believe that I'm feeling nostalgic and wanted to come home because of what today means. But it's not that. I have to be here. Destiny, fate or whatever you want to call it needed me to here today."

"What are you talking about?" Stefan asked, a frown covering his eternally youthful face and Liesel grimaced as there was no way that what her future self was about so say, was going to be anything good in the slightest. If there was one thing Liesel was certain about, no matter how many premonitions she saw, regardless of how many futures she got to witness, there was no way in hell that she would ever drop her sarcastic and pessimist ways and become an optimist.

"I knew you were going to say that, just like I know how this whole conversation goes because I've been here in this moment before. My past self, the 17 year old version of me is having a premonition of this moment. Past Liesel is watching us and she's really confused as to what was going on. I remember having this premonition all those years ago, it was just after I had been shot in that premonition and crossed over the astral plane. Before I woke up, I had a premonition of this moment. I saw our future selves standing right where we are now, having this exact same conversation. I never told you about this one, as this was to be my one last secret until now. Past Liesel is here because she needs to see this moment. She needs to know that once this over, she has to tell you the truth for all our sakes. That day is a fixed point. It needs to happen."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Future Liesel wearily sighed and pushed a piece of stray here behind her ear. "You know why Stefan. I've told you why I kept all those secrets but my past self needs to know that she has to come clean. Me keeping quiet about you being a ripper and all the premonitions I was having back then was putting us both at risk. It would be at least a year I fully understood what Mathilde meant by our bond and how dangerous it is. My fault I know. But I will still trying to come to grips with being an empath and then we had all that crap going on that I didn't exactly have time to figure out what the bond meant when I first came into my empath abilities. Things in the past are about to get pretty damn complicated or don't you remember what happened after I got shot?"

"Liesel Clara Caffrey, you really are something else… After all this, when I think I have you pegged, you still surprise me." Stefan began, his tone of voice indicating that he wasn't too happy about thiss is but not surprised either. and upon hearing the use of her full name, Liesel couldn't help but shudder, an action that her future self quickly followed. "So your younger self, the seventeen year old Liesel is watching this moment. What is it exactly that she is meant to see?"

"You Stefan. She is having a premontion of this moment and this may sound crazy but you need to tell her that it's okay. Knowing myself as well as I do, Past Liesel won't believe me because I tell more lies than I do the truths but she will believe you Stefan as no matter how many premonitions she will see, no matter how much she changes the future, one thing will remain the same. You will always be her best friend. We survived what happened but right now, the Past Liesel needs that reassurance that things no matter bad they may or may not get, will be okay eventually. Speaking from experience, I was terrified that if I told you the truth then I would lose you and I couldn't risk that because I needed you more than I need air. In the craziness that is my life, with the knowledge that I know, you were always the calm in the middle of the hurricane that I was living in. You believed in me when I couldn't believe in myself and I had needed you for so long, that now that you were in my life I never wanted to let you go. It was the case then and it still is now." Future Liesel replied, her eyes glistening over with emotions and Liesel rolled her eyes. Clearly getting older would turn her soft.

"Where is she?

"Right in-front of us, most likely rolling her eyes at the two of us. I was such an angry little teenager back then…" Future Liesel said, her head falling back as she laughed and Liesel could have rolled her eyes, if not for the warm and affectionate look that she saw the future Stefan and Liesel share. They seemed so comfortable with each other, like they had spent everyday of their lives together.

"You told me, a long time ago in our past that as a child you needed someone to be there for you after your mother died but there was no one. I said that I was sorry for not being there when you needed me the most, but I was there for you now. That won't change. I promise. I won't ever let you go, you mean more to me that you will ever know and I will always have faith in you." Stefan began, looking straight ahead and for Liesel it was like he was really there and looking in front of her. and hearing those words, the words that always made Liesel feel invincible whenever he said that, only made Liesel want to cry.

Seeing her future self with Stefan and somewhat happy and alive, gave Liesel hope. Maybe things didn't have to be so scary and Liesel could see that Mathilde was right about her needed to learn how to depend on Stefan more.

"Be good trouble! I may be able to see the future and project myself on to various planes but I still have a life to live. Well, unless you screw it up but since we are the same person, I know you won't as we are innately brilliant. Just don't make me have to do this again. It takes a hell of a lot of effort to send a premonition to myself in the past."

The morning sun was as lonely as ever when Liesel finally woke up. At first Liesel thought that it had been like any other time at the Salvatore boarding house, when she woke up in Stefan's bed. She assumed like it was like one of those other countless times where she had fallen asleep in the library after a long night of playing scrabble and Stefan had brought her to his room to sleep. After all, that had happened so many times that Liesel had lost count of how many times she had woken up in Stefan's bed. A little smile crept up onto Liesel's face as she spied Stefan quietly sleeping in the armchair that took a prime position in her room. For once, it seemed like Liesel's mind wasn't at it's usual sharp best. It took a minute or so but upon looking in Stefan's direction, it all came rushing back to Liesel like a river bank bursting with a flood of water. The premonition. Her getting shot. Mathilde. Her becoming an empath. Then the bizarre precognitive dream she had where hers and Stefan's future selves were having a one sided conversation with her.

It hadn't been some bizarre dream like Liesel had believed it to be, it had all happened. Her getting shot had allowed Liesel to move to the Astral Plane and have a conversation with her matriarch of her family line. If it wasn't for the fact that Liesel was so used to crazy things happening into her day to day life, she would have been convinced that she was losing her mind. But she wasn't. She wasn't crazy and she most certainly wasn't dead, she was however becoming an empath. It was that newly developing ability of Liesel's that had resulted in her getting shot.

She had been shot. Somehow Stefan's pain in her premonition had resulted in Liesel actually experiencing the same injury he had received, which according to the dead ancestor who she spoke to beyond the grave was a result of some bond that Liesel shared with Stefan. Scrambling off the bed and on to her feet, Liesel awkwardly made her way over to the long mirror in the room. She needed to see where she had been shot. Standing in front of the mirror, Liesel was surprised to see that she wasn't in the clothes that she had been wearing yesterday. Gone was the blue floral Hawaiian shirt that she had been wearing, the one that had been coated with her blood. Instead she had one a dark green t-shirt that she had seen Stefan wear a few times. Liesel wasn't exactly she how her clothes were changed and she didn't really want to think about it in much detail but she supposed it made sense. She couldn't really stay in blood stained clothes, her dad would have thrown a fit if he had seen the state she was in… Then there was Stefan. He did have a little problem with blood. Yet in Liesel's mind, she could recall seeing him in control of his blood lust when she was bleeding out. The so called 'ripper' was no doubt the reason Liesel was here. He had no doubt given Liesel his blood, she would have died from her wound other wise.

Pulling up her top, Liesel expected there would be no trace where she had been shot, she had seen with her own eyes that vampire blood could heal any injury. But it seemed like that wasn't the case. As where she had been shot was this small scar that Liesel knew had never been there before, the scar was angry looking and even though she had no idea why she had this scar, Liesel was certain that it was probably to remind her that she could not use her abilities for her own personal gain once again. This whole thing was weird, well more weird than Liesel's life usual was. It was all rather strange. Liesel had expected to feel weak and sluggish, everything that someone was typically supposed to feel after surviving being shot but she didn't. If anything Liesel felt strong. Stronger than she had ever known herself to be and she knew that it wasn't down to Stefan using his blood to save her. Things were different now, no longer was Liesel weighed down with the fear of her imminent death as Mathilde had freed her from that burden. There was a lot of things Liesel still didn't understand, there were so many things that she was struggling to process but there was this undeniable clarity within herself. Having a pep talk by the matriarch of the Heindeck line and the woman responsible for her abilities seemed to have done Liesel the world of good, especially the part when Mathilde had informed her that she one day overtake her and become the most powerful psychic in their family line.

"Liesel?"

Hearing her name, Liesel turned to see Elena standing in the doorway of Stefan's bedroom, her dark almond eyes wide in surprise as if she had just witnessed Jesus coming back from the dead. Liesel couldn't really blame her as from her somewhat limited memories of what happened just after she had been shot, the whole experience had been traumatic to say the least, not to mention bloody. Liesel put her index finger straight to her mouth and motioned for Elena to keep quiet, she didn't want to wake up Stefan just yet. After what she had put him through in the last few days, Stefan needed a break from Liesel even for a few hours. She also needed time to figure out what she was going to tell Stefan, there was no doubt about it that Liesel was going to have to tell him the full truth. Her keeping secrets had sort of dragged them into this mess. She needed to be honest with him, her future self had pretty much said that and Mathilde had even told her that she needed to depend on Stefan, to allow him in to help shoulder the burden of her being a psychic. This wasn't like the situation with her family, Liesel couldn't keep Stefan in the dark any more as it seemed like that was only putting the two of them in further danger. Again, these were the words of her future self.

"How are you feeling?" Elena quietly questioned and Liesel tilted her head to the side and smiled briefly as she fiddled with the ends of her own dark hair. That was a very interesting question and Liesel wasn't sure whether or not she could honestly answer that. What had just happened to her was a very unique situation. Being shot had hurt like hell, that much Liesel knew but how she felt now? After everything that she learned from Mathilde and her future self, was something Liesel didn't think she was ready to put into words. But she could at least try. Things were different for Liesel now, the world was a little less scary and she knew that she wasn't alone as she used to think she was.

"Surprisingly alive, I guess surviving getting shot does that to a person… For the first time in a very long time, I'm not scared. There's a weird amount of clarity that comes from almost dying." Liesel began, before trailing off as she was suddenly overcome with this feeling from within.

She felt anxious. There was this deep seeded ache in her heart and it scared Liesel because of how painful it was but she didn't know where it had come from. There was nothing for Liesel to be worried or anxious about. Everything that had once been bothering her, had now been resolved. At least for the time being… Mathilde had told her that the premonition she had about being prepared to jump off Steven's quarry was a warning to prepare for the emotional upheaval that came with becoming an empath. Something was different though. This anxiety wasn't threatening to consume her like it normally was when Liesel was worried about something and overthinking things like she typically did. This feeling was prickling at her. She couldn't really explain it too well but this feeling of anxiety was lurking in her chest, it had had just come out of nowhere and now it was blooming within her heart. The last time Liesel had properly felt like this was with Damon… The day in the library, a couple of days after the whole tomb thing. It all made so much sense to Liesel now.

This wasn't her pain. That's why Liesel felt out of it because she wasn't experiencing her own pain. Just like before when she had felt Damon's pain, she was feeling someone else's emotions. This was her abilities of an empath. It was subtle at first but the more Liesel focused on this feeling of anxiety, the more it came to her. Looking over her shoulder, Liesel glanced over at Stefan who was still sleeping and she couldn't help but let out a heartfelt sigh. It was Stefan emotion she was currently experiencing, even though he was asleep, he was radiating pain like a skinned rabbit and Liesel could feel it. He was worried about her. This was what Mathilde had been talking about. It all suddenly made so much to Liesel as she walked over to where Stefan was idly sleeping. Right now, there wasn't much she could do to comfort him but she would fix this. She would make things right.

"Liesel?"

"Yeah?"

"What actually happened to you?" Elena asked, drawing Liesel's attention away from Stefan and back to the bigger picture. Of course Elena wanted answers, any one would want answers if they witnessed the impossible. So much had happened in the last twenty fours that the bust up that Liesel had with Tyler Lockwood seemed like a life time ago. Liesel wasn't even sure where to start as recently it had all seemed like a nightmare of a rollercoaster. But now the nightmare had come to an end and she could finally see the sun again.

"He happened."

"Stefan?"

"I never saw him coming, which is ironic for obvious reasons. I knew something was coming, I kept seeing the same thing in my tarot cards for months but I never could have foretold how much my life was going to change. How much he would change it… Stefan came into my life and destroyed everything I thought I knew, I believed was okay being by myself all the time but I wasn't. I needed somebody to depend on, I needed someone to stand by my side and be the person I could always turn to. He is always here when I need him, no questions asked. Stefan gave me the strength to believe in myself, I wouldn't be here without Stefan. I couldn't be the person I am without him. I won't be the person Mathilde says I will become without him. I won't be the Liesel I saw in the future without Stefan. I finally understand now… My fate is tied to Stefan and always has been." Liesel quietly explained and it was clear by the puzzled look on Elena's face that she didn't understand. That was okay. Perhaps she was never meant to understand. Liesel smiled an honest smile, things didn't make sense right now to all of them but she would figure this out one way or another. This had something to do with the bond, Liesel was certain of that much.

"Liesel, are you sure you're okay?"

"I almost died Elena, of course I'm not okay… But then again, was I ever okay to begin with? But I will be okay, one way or another I will be. I have to be for Stefan's sake, for all of our sake's as from what I've seen, there are some dangerous times ahead and I have to protect the ones I love." Liesel quipped with a small chuckle, before proceeding to place a gentle kiss on the top of Stefan's head. "Can you keep an eye on him for a while Elena? He should probably sleep for a while longer. I know yesterday must have taken a lot out of him, so he should get some rest. He probably sat by my side this entire time until he passed out, Stefan probably wanted to be the first person I see when I woke up. But I have to take off for a bit."

"You're leaving?" Elena questioned and Liesel nodded, life didn't stop just because she had almost died.

"Don't worry Elena, I know what I am doing and I wouldn't leave unless I really had to. I need to do a few things, like get a change of clothes and check in with my old man, I know Stefan probably covered but still… My dad worries if doesn't hear from me after a while, plus I need to see Papa Caffrey, I almost died and I can't remember if I told him I loved him before I left the house yesterday. My old man is my world, everything won't be okay until I see him. I'll be careful, I figure that I'll have Stefan's blood in my system for another few hours. The last thing I want is turn into a vampire, it may work Stefan but that's his role. He's the vampire and I'm the psychic. That how it is!" Liesel quipped with an idle shrug of her shoulders as went about poking around in Stefan's drawers for a jumper to wear as it was way to cold to be going out in just a t-shirt.

"What do I tell Stefan when he wakes up?

Liesel stopped what she was doing and turned to face Elena, she hadn't exactly thought that far. "Hmm... Tell him that I'm going back to the beginning, where this all started and if he knows me, like I believe he does then Stefan will know where to find me. I'm certain of it. He will know me or he does know me better than any one, so it shouldn't be too hard for him to figure it out."

"He thought he was going to lose you." Elena quietly stated and there was this indescribable ache in Liesel's heart as she could only imagine what Stefan had been going through during all that madness. She could still remember how inconsolable Stefan was after Lexi's death. He had come pretty close to going through that again. It was rather ironic given that the lengths Liesel had went to to try and avoid that ever happening and yet she had come so close to hurting the person she had been trying to protect this entire time.

"For a moment, so did I... I'll make this up to him and I will never put him through something like this again. I know what I need to do now and I won't fail."" Liesel allowed herself to admit as she awkwardly threw on a jumper, she had been convinced that she was dead when she had first gotten to the astral plane. It turns out it was some weird cosmic life lesson. "I should probably say thank you Elena, I know that I'm not exactly the warmest person towards you… I wish things could be different between us for his sake, he loves you, Stefan means the world to me and I know you make him happy but I can't pretend that nothing happened. We both know why things can't go back to the way they were when we were kids. But regardless of that you helped Stefan to save my life and I appreciate that. It means a lot to me."

"Liesel..."

The confused look written all over Elena's face made Liesel laugh, she couldn't help it. Of course none of this made any sense, but since that summed up most of Liesel's life, she was more used to going along with it compared to Elena. Plus the apology probably threw her off guard, it wasn't often Liesel apologised to people and actual meant it. But this was one of the few times that she did.

She couldn't fix things with Elena but Liesel would do whatever it took to build a better for Stefan, that much he deserved for putting up with her and all the craziness she brought to their lives.