Teacher by day, vampire hunter by night.

It started with something that Amara said, ranting and raving about the Other Side.

"The Renewal...I have to die, please let me die...I can't, The Renewal...The Renewal..."

Alaric had never been more grateful that Bonnie's spell had let him slip free of the Other Side than he was once they started researching. Jeremy passed Bonnie's messages along, and together the two of them pored over her grimoire and every archaic text they could get their hands on.

In the end, it was Bonnie herself that found it when a book fell off a nearby shelf where Alaric was looking for something different.

The grimoire was one from New Orleans, and the ritual was there. The Renewal was a form of ancestral magic, one that allowed two bloodlines to merge by resurrecting a dead witch. It was performed not by lifting the veil or destroying the Other Side, but by piercing it, opening a door which a single soul could pass through.

They just needed a human who could execute part of the spell on the dead witch's behalf, a dead witch...and the sacrifice of someone who was, according to the spell, 'thrice shunned by the Reaper's blade.'

Excluding the Gilbert ring, Alaric was the only one who fit the bill. He'd been killed to become a vampire, died as a vampire only to be resurrected, and could no longer be killed. Two deaths he'd come back from, and now free of the grave.

The ritual was performed over Alaric's old grave. Jeremy called the power of the elements, with Bonnie's help from the Other Side, the spirits of the dead were summoned to give aid...and Alaric had a stake driven straight through his heart.

When he awoke, he hurt like hell...but the one who pulled the wood from his chest was Bonnie herself.

"Bonnie."

Grinning, she let Alaric hug her as he sat up, hugging him back fiercely. Over her shoulder, Jeremy and Damon had Elena sandwiched between them, all three of them crying outright...which was a surprise, considering Damon.

"You brought me back."

"Glad to do it."

"Even though you've been dead for three days?"

Alaric laughed, rubbing her back as he gave her a small, careful squeeze. "Worth it."

Bonnie giggled, holding him a little tighter.

"Grams and Emily said to thank you." Bonnie whispered in his ear. "They said they couldn't fix everything that happened to her...but you earned something in return for helping me."

Alaric drew back to meet her gaze, confused but not really caring because Bonnie was alive, and not paying the price for his life anymore.

He opened his mouth, but then noticed Bonnie looking past him. Hearing a rustle in the leaves, he moved without thinking, a blur of movement as he spun to catch the hand reaching for him...

...and found himself face to face with the reason Damon Salvatore was actually in tears.

"Oh my God...Jenna?"