The phone rang as Elena watched a three-year-old blonde pigtailed tornado whirl around her living room. She darted into the kitchen to answer it and sped back, not daring to turn an eye away from Sarah for more than a few seconds. She was normally cherubic, but clearly the handful of M&Ms as a before lunch "treat" weren't the best idea. Sugar had made her almost too fast for Elena's vampire eyes to track, and she could only imagine what Elijah's reaction would be when he got back with the pizza.

"Hello, Bon," she said distractedly.

"Hey... do you have a second? I'm on my lunch break and I have some news for you."

"Kind of?" She covered the mouthpiece, whispering to Sarah. "C'mon, sweetheart, let's watch Bubble Guppies." She patted the couch and the little girl's enormous blue eyes lit up as she scrambled into Elena's lap. "Okay, yeah. I forgot how potent even just a dash of sugar is for kids."

"Aw, is Sarah there?" She could hear the smile in Bonnie's voice. The witch had become a third honorary auntie in the child's life, since she and Rebekah had forged a friendship. Bonnie was another mentor to the former Original, and it was an interesting bond since Bonnie was descended from Esther's best friend.

"She sure is. Rebekah and David are at some coven workshop thing today. They could have brought her along, but we offered to take her so they could enjoy themselves and concentrate."

"Yeah, I bet she would've been bored after an hour or two."

"Probably. Though it is her heritage," Elena sighed, absently rolling a blonde baby curl through her fingers. "She might be some kind of prodigy for all we know."

"God, I hope not," Bonnie exclaimed. "She needs to enjoy being a kid. I think we dealt with more than enough crazy in our time to cut her some slack."

"Yeah, right?" Elena chuckled. "Seriously, it's only been a few years but it seems like a lifetime ago."

"I'll take peaceful any day. You can't tell me you miss all of the constant danger."

"No, not even a little bit. I just... miss the people we lost along the way." She bit at the inside of her lip as she tried to push away thoughts of her brother and aunt, and Ric. Sarah must have sensed the sorrow rising in her chest, and she leaned back, thumb in her mouth, causing Elena's heart to ache in a completely different way. "It's weird to think I might not see any of them again."

"Especially if you do manage to live forever." Bonnie sighed on the other end of the line, and they were both quiet.

That thought still managed to punch her in the gut when she dwelled on it for too long, an endless loop of what-if's and the terrifying unknown. Forever. Such a strange concept. One that she didn't worry about as a human, even in the face of a neverending afterlife, because at least she wouldn't be alone. But now, as a mostly-immortal being... both life and death struck her with similar worry. She didn't want to face the day when she outlived everyone human that she loved, but she also didn't know if she would find an afterlife if she died as a vampire. Regardless, it wasn't something she could discuss with a child present. Most of it would go over her head, but what didn't would probably give her nightmares.

"A subject for another day," Elena declared, adding some superficial brightness to her tone. "What did you need to talk about?"

"Well," Bonnie began before pausing again, and Elena could sense her nervous energy. "I found old Bennett grimoires while I was cleaning out Grams' house to sell. Or, I guess they found me."

"Really?" A chill ran down her spine, as she knew firsthand the disquiet of the dead all too well. Especially witches.

"Yeah. This one room... it just wouldn't cooperate. Circuits kept tripping, light bulbs would blow out right after being replaced. They weren't going to let me put the house on the market with any secrets left inside."

"Where were they?" Elena shifted away from the couch now, seeing her opportunity at Sarah's preoccupation with the TV. Her young niece didn't even glance up, and she stole into the kitchen to set out the plates and napkins for lunch. Elijah would be back any second.

"Tucked inside the wall in the closet. If you held a flashlight just right, you could see a ripple in the plaster behind the wallpaper. I bet Grams didn't even know they were there. But there was a piece of wood fairly flush with the rest of the wall, and when I pulled it away they all fell out. Six more."

"Wow. That's a lot of undiscovered magic."

"Yeah," Bonnie sighed. "A bunch of new spells to go through, along with a wall to repair. But at least the unexplained electrical issues resolved themselves."

"That's a relief!"

"I know. I was this close to just giving up and moving into the house myself. But it was worth it... I'm about halfway through the grimoires, and I found some interesting stuff." Bonnie cleared her throat. "Particularly interesting for you. And Elijah."

Elena stopped in the middle of the kitchen, cups in hand as her senses began to tingle. She almost knew what was coming next, but she was wary of getting her hopes up. "What do you mean...?"

"I think I've finally figured out how you can have a baby." Bonnie's voice quivered in anticipatory excitement, and Elena threw a hand over her mouth to muffle her shocked sob.

"Oh, my God," she breathed. "Oh, my God - Bonnie!"

Of course Elijah stepped through the kitchen door at that very moment - he of the most impeccable timing, always. He stopped once he noticed the tears in Elena's eyes. "Are you alright?" he murmured, mindful of the phone in her hand. She nodded silently, and once he'd placed the pizza box on the island, he laid a supportive hand along the small of her back.

"When can you come over? When can we figure this out?" she rambled.

Her mind was racing, and although it was half-insanity, she couldn't see any reason to wait. Waiting meant they might miss out on this opportunity, and there was nothing to hold them back.

"Tonight?" Bonnie offered. "After I finish my shift today, and once Sarah's gone home. It's a little involved and we definitely need to concentrate."

"Of course - whatever it takes. God, thank you - thank you."

"It's no problem at all. I know how much you guys have wanted this," Bonnie said, her warm smile audible. "I'll see you later."

"Sounds good! Bye."

Elena set the phone on the counter and ran shaky hands over her face. Elijah watched her, finally raising an eyebrow when she remained silent longer than he could bear waiting - she felt as though she was ready to vibrate out of her skin.

She drew in a deep breath, and then she couldn't stop a wide grin from breaking out over her face. "Bonnie found a way for us to have a baby!"

He blinked a few times, but his eyes glimmered with anticipation, a faint smile ready to follow. "Are you serious?"

She giggled. "I'm so serious - oh my God, Elijah! I can't believe it's actually going to happen!" She threw her arms around him and their mouths met. His hands rested at her waist, and she relaxed into their kiss, allowing it ground her. "Mmmmm," she breathed as she pulled away, eyes slightly dazed as she stared into his beautiful face.

"So we're going to have a child. Our child," he mused, his hands running along her back, his gaze intimate. Elena smiled softly. He opened his mouth to speak again, and then he just chuckled. "I'm speechless. It's surreal."

"I know. There's so much to consider, especially given our... condition. But I don't even care - I just want this."

"So do I." His smile shifted into a smirk as he leaned in, but a curious voice interrupted them.

"Aunt 'Lena?"

Elena glanced over Elijah's shoulder, down to the miniature version of Rebekah staring up at her. He buried his face against her neck to hide his grin, apparently amused that they were nearly caught in an act of PDA. She playfully swatted his arm before she pulled free. Then she lifted Sarah up onto her hip. "What's up, peanut?"

"Is the food ready yet? Neema was making a pizza pie on the show and now I'm hungry!"

"Like this?" Elijah asked, opening the box. Sarah's eyes widened at the sight of the pepperoni pizza, and the smell of the cheese and sauce was enough to make Elena's stomach growl.

"Just like that!" she exclaimed.

They both smiled at her innocent glee. Elena couldn't help imagining future days like this with their own child as she wrangled her into her booster seat. Yes, it was quiet and maybe a little mundane - definitely not glamorous - but her life would feel full, much like it did when she spent time with Sarah. And there was a certain peace in Elijah whenever he was around children. He was content. She'd noticed it many times over the years they'd been together, that it was different than the moments they shared between them. He was almost enlightened by their innocence. It always left her with a deep pang od sadness that she couldn't give him a child of their own.

But now, she would.

Several hours later, when their house was quiet again, they waited for Bonnie. Elena stood from the chair where she had sat, now anxiously pacing. Elijah let her make a few trails back and forth before finally catching her hand and pulling her onto his lap.

"Don't fret," he soothed, kissing her hand.

"It's just that she said it's involved, and I can't stop my mind from running with the different scenarios." Her fingers ran over the navy v-neck sweater he wore, the soft texture over his lean muscle proving to be a welcome distraction. She raised her eyes to meet his and he cupped the side of her face. "It's not meant to be easy, though. Right? Nothing worthwhile ever is."

He leaned forward enough so that his lips pressed against hers, just to sway her mind a little, make her thoughts redirect. "Right," he agreed softly, the edge to his low voice setting her lust alight. "And we will face this together, as we always have."

She allowed herself to find solace in his reassurance, even though she was still filled with the mix of giddiness and terror. What if she was an awful mom? What if this meant bringing some strange hybrid child forth? Was that selfish, to accidentally create an abomination? Or what if the baby was a completely ordinary human? Was she going to outlive her child? Could she stomach that?

Elijah's thumb running over her knuckles drew her out of the endless cycle of worry. They were in this together. These were the questions she would ask him at 3am when she couldn't sleep, with their child growing inside of her. She gave him a fluttery smile. Despite any fear, they needed this - their child.

The doorbell signaled Bonnie's arrival, and Elena peeled herself from Elijah's lap to let her in.