Our beautiful Brothers Salvatore come spilling out of the building. Damon is coughing because of the smoke (and because he forgets he's a vampire). Elena hangs onto her men as Bonnie watches with a mixture of relief, guilt, and possibly disgust. Commercial.

But wait... The episode is only 3/4s of the way through? What the Hell is going to happen now? I don't know if my heart can take any more. Oh dear, here we go again.

Grill: Stefan finds Elena, who tells him the fire's out. The official story is the building's old wiring was faulty. Stefan wants to know where Damon is. Elena says he just kind of disappeared. Stefan: "Figures." Elena's just glad Stefan is okay. She hugs him. When they part, he says, "I try so hard to hate him. I guess it's just pointless." Wordy McEye-Thing. Elena shakes her head. "You care about him." Duh. "So do I." Double duh. Stefan nods, but his smile is bitter. He lowers his head, but not before Elena gets a good look at his face. "But I love you, Stefan, and I know that you're worried about that." Stefan: "Nah, just...Elena, I know my brother." Elena, "But I love you, Stefan." Stefan says he knows the trouble Damon can cause. Elena grabs his face. "I. Love. YOU. Stefan. You." Stefan nods, but his eyes call her a liar. When she can't convince him with words, she uses her lips. After their smooch, he still looks as wounded and fearful as ever. Elena tells him he has nothing to worry about. She kisses him again, which really, is the best (and most fun) way to convince him, don't you think? At any rate, she tells him Jenna called; Jeremy's home, yada yada. She's going to pick up her dress at the school and then go home to check on her brother.

Gilbert Gables; Germ's Room: He examines the vial of Anna's blood, then tosses it in his desk drawer. When he turns around, he finds Damon, who has come to inform him that Anna died. He explains how he wanted to help her, but couldn't. Jeremy: "Why are you telling me all this?" Damon: "I took away your suffering once before. I can do it again, but it's your choice." Jeremy says it's no use. The mind-wipes aren't as efficient as Damon thinks. There's still a gaping hole in his soul, even though he can't remember why. Making him forget doesn't fix what's really wrong. Staid, serious, and sympathetic, Damon approaches him, and apologizes for his part in Vicki's demise. Jeremy asks about vampires' ability to turn off pain if they shut out their humanity. "Is it easier that way?" Damon: "Is what easier?" Jeremy means life. Damon: "Life sucks either way, Jeremy. But at least if you're a vampire, you don't have to feel bad about it -- if you don't want to." Oh Damon, you so want to, you big sap. Jeremy asks Damon if that's what he did. Damon, choking on his own humanity and tears, says, "I did it for a very long time. And life was a lot easier." Nice use of the past tense there, D. He leaves Germ to his thoughts, which is probably never a good idea.