Title: About Our Forever
Author: Alysia
Category: Alternate Universe
Couple: Elejah…of course
Summary: Elena and Elijah are still dealing with fallout from Katherine's actions as well as the differences amongst their friends and families. The dreams have returned with a vengeance and what exactly did Esther do to Elena?

Author's Note: So, because everyone asked so nicely, I decided to post this a little earlier. I can't say if I'll update this on my usual day this week, but who knows. Your reviews might inspire me to, but don't hold me to that. Also, if there are any new readers, this story won't make sense unless you go back and read 'About That Time' first.

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters familiar to TVD.

Chapter 1

"You said that you called your brother first, is that right?" The deputy asked with as much respect as possible. It was a difficult question to ask about such situations, but he needed to make sure he had all the facts straight. When the blonde turned to him in exasperation he nearly winced. Her nerves were obviously shot and he forced himself not to shrink under her intense stare.

"Yes," Rebekah Mikaelson answered shortly. As soon as they'd arrived at the hospital, Elena had been whisked away in a flurry of activity and she hadn't heard anything from the doctor or nurses since.

"Why?" The deputy continued. "Why call him instead of emergency services first?"

Rebekah glared at the man before her. She didn't have time to deal with his exasperating questions! Why was he repeating everything she'd already told him?

"I mean no offense, Miss Mikaelson," he apologized. "It's just…if something should happen to her and the doctors could have gotten to her sooner had you called for an ambulance sooner…"

"Excuse me?" She arched an eyebrow. "I would never harm her! She's my brother's girlfriend." Taking a deep breath, she attempted to calm her nerves before she said anything that could be used against her. "Look, my…friendship with her is still relatively new. I called Elijah because I thought she might have a habit of falling unconscious and I didn't want to unnecessarily call the responders if I could have handled the situation myself."

"Elijah Mikaelson?" The deputy asked, writing his name down on his pad of paper. "Hmm, he's a little old for her isn't he?" He muttered to himself, not understanding what a man his age would find so appealing about a girl so much younger.

"She's over the age of consent and his choice in partners is none of your concern," she bit back, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Jack, I'll take over here," Liz Forbes said, quickly approaching the pair. Rebekah was obviously upset and it appeared as if her deputy said the wrong thing every time he opened his mouth.

"But I haven't finished questioning-"

"I'll take care of it," she assured him before issuing him another task. The pair of blondes waited to make sure that he was gone before speaking once again. "Perhaps we should move this to a quiet location?" She suggested. While they appeared to be alone in the waiting room, Liz was well aware of the fact that walls had ears.

Rebekah hesitated to follow the sheriff. "But I haven't heard anything about her." She couldn't leave. What if Elijah called while she was gone wanting an update?

"It will only be for a short time. I need to know what really happened if I'm going to help you guys." Whenever the law was involved, things could be tricky. "I'm not saying that something is wrong, but we don't need the wrong people asking questions, do we?" When her companion appeared to be on the fence, she tried another tactic. "Besides, they won't tell you anything of consequence since you aren't family."

"Oh yes they will," she immediately shot back in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. She'd compel them if she had to.

"Rebekah, please. Elena is like a second daughter to me, I'm just as concerned as you…if not more so."

Giving in to the request, Rebekah rolled her eyes and followed Liz to the entrance of the building. She supposed the parking lot was as good a place as any. "I took Elena back to my house last night after she got trashed at a party. Needless to say she felt the effects of her decision last night. Earlier today, my mother made her an herbal cure."

"Herbal cure?" Liz repeated. What did that mean?

"It's something that she would make for my father when he would drink too much, it's supposed to help curb the nausea and headache."

"And what herbs does she use?"

Rebekah shook her head. "I don't know. All I know is that she gave it to her earlier and Elena was fine."

"And then what happened?"

Rebekah went on to explain the events that happened to Elena. "I called Elijah because I didn't know what to do. My father never had such a reaction to the drinks she made."

"Are you telling me that your mother purposely did something to Elena?" Liz inquired in a stern voice.

Rebekah shook her head. "I'm telling you that I don't know." Before Elena fell unconscious she never would have entertained such a thought. "She's gone, my mother. I went to go ask her what she gave to Elena and she wasn't in her room."

"Is there a chance she could have snuck out the door in between the time that you interacted with her to when you called for help?"

Again, she shook her head in negative. "I would have heard it," Rebekah denied.

With a solemn expression on her face, Liz nodded. Leading them back into the waiting room, the sheriff turned to study her companion. "I'll do what I can, but if the tox screen comes back and the herbs that she used are harmful in any way, it'll be out of my control," she warned the vampire.

Rebekah tilted her head in acknowledgment to the words. If the situation grew to be out of the sheriff's control, she and her brothers would deal with it themselves.

"Sheriff!" The pair watched as an out of breath Alaric and worrisome Jeremy rush towards them.

"Is she okay?" Jeremy asked before he even reached them.

"What happened? Has the doctor been by to talk to you?" Alaric asked in a quick succession, not even giving either woman a chance to answer Jeremy's question.

Sensing that the last thing Rebekah wanted to do was repeat her story yet again, Liz took over the explanations. Whenever either male would jump in to ask questions, she would defer to Rebekah for clarification. As the conversation came to a close, the officer led Alaric off to the side as she mentioned Esther's role and her possible intentions.

Doing her best to ignore the conversation taking place a few feet away from her, Rebekah turned to Jeremy.

"So is that all that happened?" He asked, not bothering to sugar coat his words.

"And I'd lie why?" She had nothing to hide from him or Alaric.

However before either of them had a chance to say anything more, they were interrupted by two new voices.

"Jeremy! How is she?" Caroline called out as she rushed to join him.

"What did you do to her, Rebekah?" Bonnie demanded. Elena had already died because of Klaus' twisted desires. It wouldn't shock her in the least if Rebekah hurt her as well.

Rebekah's gaze narrowed on the witch, not surprised by her, but by the audacity of her question. After dealing with a drunk Elena because of Bonnie's harsh words, she thought she had a right to demand such a thing? Turning an expectant gaze on Jeremy, she shook her head. "You called them?"

"Well, yeah," he shrugged. "They are Elena's friends." Yet even as he said it, he could feel the weight of Rebekah's glare intensifying.

Rebekah crossed her arms. "Huh…" Not bothering to spare the girls a glance, she pulled her phone out. "I have to call Elijah," she excused.

"Elena Gilbert?"

As the doctor stepped into the waiting room, everyone waiting for her jumped up.

"Yes. I'm her guardian and this is her brother," Alaric gestured to the anxious young man next to him. "How is she?"

"Stable, but she's slipped into a coma. We've run every test available, but the results were inconclusive."

"Inconclusive?" Jeremy asked. "What does that mean?"

"It means that we can't find the reason why she was induced into a slumbered state," the doctor admitted. "Given the cocktail of things in her system, we were unable to find the cause."

"And the herbs and such?" Rebekah jumped in. Please tell her that her mother didn't harm her! She wouldn't do that. Not after everything they'd recently gone through. It had to be a misunderstanding!

"While the plethora of things aren't something we're used to seeing on a day to day basis, nothing has proven to be harmful or in excessive amounts."

Jeremy shook his head. "Not harmful? She's in a coma." If it wasn't harmful, then what was it?

The doctor met the concerned gaze of Elena's brother. "I only meant that we didn't find any poison in her system," he clarified.

"And the coma?" Alaric asked.

The doctor shook his head. "Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about that. Since it wasn't brought on by trauma she could wake up at any time."

"So she could wake up at any minute?" Caroline inquired. "That doesn't sound too bad."

"She could," the medical professional agreed. "However, before you get your hopes up, she could also remain in that position for weeks or even months."

"Can we see her now?"

"She's being taken to a room now. When she's settled, that may be a possibility, but I insist on no more than two people in her room at a time."

When the doctor left the group, Bonnie and Caroline decided to wait around to see Elena. Since Alaric and Jeremy would be the firsts to see her, they'd bide their time. Caroline separated herself from the group to call Matt and inform of the situation and Rebekah moved to call her brother.

Time passed swiftly for the group. As soon as a nurse greeted them, the group traveled to the third floor of the hospital where Elena's room was. While Rick and Jeremy followed her to Elena's room, the three girls claimed seats in the smaller waiting room. Bonnie and Caroline shared a short, stilted conversation while Rebekah kept herself separate from the witch.

After her call to Elijah went unanswered, she left him a swift message updating him on Elena's condition. She could only hope that since he hadn't answered that her brothers were currently in flight. She even tried to call Klaus' phone, hoping for a different outcome. However, when the call went unanswered again, she didn't bother leaving a message.

She considered heading home, but she needed to speak to her brothers and the hospital would be the first place they'd visit upon returning to Mystic Falls. Then again, she'd be stuck in the waiting room. Given her own relationship with Elena compared to the others, she was the least connected and she had no right to even visit her hospital room. And something told her that if she tried that Bonnie would do anything in her power to stop that from happening. She also had the issue of Esther to deal with.

She'd been so wrapped up in Elena, she'd pushed all else aside, focusing on the situation at hand. However, under the knowledge that aside from the coma, Elena was stable; Rebekah found her thoughts turning to her mother. She couldn't believe that Esther would have done such a thing. Why would she? And why would she just disappear after? She didn't understand any of it and she was torn between feeling the sting of betrayal behind Esther's actions and worry for not knowing her location.

She needed to go home and double check her mother's bedroom. Perhaps she'd left a clue behind that Rebekah hadn't had time to notice? She couldn't have just disappeared…could she have? Her thoughts turned back to her conversation with Esther earlier on in the day. At the time, she'd wondered why Esther chose to speak on such a subject.

"Rebekah, I may not be around for that."

Given the things that she'd said, Rebekah was beginning to believe that Esther expected her death or to magically cease to exist. Maybe she hadn't run off?

Cupping Rebekah's face in her free hand, she sighed. "I'm dying, Rebekah."

Pulling away from her mother she began shaking her head in fervently. "No. You can't be, because you were brought back to life through magic."

"Yes, a magic which eventually fades," her mother replied. "I was never intended to return for a long period of time. The witches gave me the power to cross over because I was supposed to kill you all. And because I changed my mind, the power is withdrawing. I can feel it, my life source draining further with each day that passes."

It sounded as if Esther had been expecting it for a while… But then, if she was, why would she make such a dramatic exit by turning on them and doing such a thing to Elena?

"Rebekah," she sighed. "I have been so blessed to get this second opportunity to get to know my children." All the time that she'd spent watching them, she'd been convinced that anything resembling her children had long since died. "For the longest time I was so convinced that you were all lost to me. I never expected that these past weeks would have been the happiest in my existence."

"Rebekah?"

With a blank look, she cleared away her thoughts, only to find Matt staring at her expectantly. When had he gotten there? Taking a look around the room, she noticed that Caroline and Bonnie were absent and she'd been left alone.

"I called your name three times," he informed her with a small smile. "Did you lose your way in your thoughts?"

She blushed at the inquiry, unable to believe that she'd lost herself so completely to her mind. She was usually never caught to unaware. "Sorry, yeah. Where are the others?"

"Rick and Jeremy headed down the cafeteria to get some coffee and the girls are in with Elena right now." Claiming a seat next to her, he studied his companion. "How are you doing?" He asked after a pause, knowing that no one else had bothered to inquire after the blonde. Whether it was through negligence or not caring, he knew that she'd been overlooked.

Rebekah shook her head at him and turned away from his keen interest. "Honestly, I'm not sure," she admitted with a small, bitter laugh. "Between what happened to Elena and now my mother…"

"Yeah," he muttered with a frown playing around his lips. "I heard about it." Upon his arrival, Caroline and Bonnie caught him up to speed on the situation.

"I'm sure you did," she murmured with a long sigh. No doubt everyone would know that Esther had done something to their precious Elena, and no doubt everyone would use it as an excuse to vilify her family once again. It was one thing to accept such a role when it was deserved, but her family hadn't made a move against any of them since before the ball. When she noticed that Matt seemed to get comfortable in his seat, Rebekah turned a curious glance to him. "What are you doing? Don't you want to see Elena?"

He shrugged. "I do, and I will…eventually."

"But?" She hedged, sensing he was leaving something unsaid.

"Neither girl in that room will willingly leave Elena and I don't want to have to fight my way into it. So, if you don't mind, I'll just stay here with you and keep you company."

The pair slipped into silence and as the hours passed, the number of people occupying the waiting room changed. Matt had finally gotten to see Elena when Jeremy used his status card to Elena to herd Bonnie and Caroline out of the room. Sometimes Rebekah was left alone, sometimes, she found herself sitting close to someone, but she was always awake. Everyone else had drifted off to sleep in the ache inducing chairs the hospital offered in the waiting room. Currently, she sat flipping through a magazine that she'd glanced and looked through a dozen and half times already while Matt leaned against her, having dozed off an hour earlier.

It was that scene that greeted Elijah's eyes when he and his brothers made it to the third floor. "Rebekah."

"Elijah!" She jumped up, not giving a second thought the guy leaning against her.

"Which room?" Elijah demanded, not bothering to pause in his steps.

Rebekah rattled off the room number quickly, feeling no surprise or slight when he rushed past her towards Elena. As soon as they'd landed he'd called her for any updates since her first message and she had been texting both him and Klaus every so often to answer any of their questions. It had gotten to the point where she didn't want to talk to them, not only so she didn't disturb those around her, but because she didn't want anyone listening in on her conversation.

"Rebekah, how are you?"

Turning back to her remaining brothers, she walked into Klaus' arms when he made a move to embrace her. "Elena's in a coma that Esther may or may not be responsible for and now she's gone. How do you think I am?"

Finn, having noticed that their reunion was drawing attention from Elena's friends, stepped closing to Rebekah. "What do you mean she's gone?"

"She's disappeared," his sister frowned as she pulled away from Klaus. "I don't know where she is, but it's not like I had time to look for her." She'd been at the hospital the entire time. "She wasn't there when I called for an ambulance."

"Why don't we head home?" Klaus offered. "Maybe there was something left behind that you missed in the moment? Besides, there's nothing we can do here."

Finn nodded. "I'll let Elijah know that we're leaving."

When the door opened again, Alaric twisted in his seat and ran a hand over his face. The hours were dragging by slowly, already the nurses had been in four times…make that five. However, the person who entered the room was not who he'd been expecting.

Elijah barely spared Elena's guardian and brother a glance, his complete focus on the girl in the hospital bed. He made it to her side in three long strides. Grabbing her free hand, he leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"When did you get back?" Alaric asked quietly.

"As soon as we landed we drove right here," he answered, not pulling his gaze away from Elena's slumbering form. "Elena, beloved, I'm here," he whispered. Instead of the normal manufactured scent, she smelled of him, of his soap and shampoo and that pleased him far more than he was willing to muse upon. "Rebekah has been texting me the last few hours. Has the doctor said anything more?"

Jeremy shook his head slowly. "No. He hasn't been here since she was brought to this room. It's only been the nurses and so far they've been mostly quiet."

"So he has no idea how long she could be like this then?" Elijah asked.

"No," Jeremy said, standing up from his seat and stretching.

Elijah finally took his eyes off Elena long enough to look at his companions. "You two look exhausted."

Alaric shrugged. It's been a long night."

"You guys are more than welcome to go home and get some sleep. I imagine you have a long day ahead of yourselves."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Jeremy sneered. "I'm not leaving my sister."

"I meant no offense, Jeremy," Elijah explained, not meaning to offend either of them. "I was simply stating a fact. Of course you'd want to be with your sister, and I would never dream of keeping you from her. I know that you didn't want to leave her alone, and now that I'm here, she won't be. And unlike the two of you, I don't require sleep."

Alaric considered Elijah's point while Jeremy mulled it over as well. He hated to admit it, but he was right. Where the two of them required sleep as a necessary function to get through the day, Elijah didn't. The last few hours had taken a toll on him, and he was not just feeling physically exhausted, but emotionally as well; and sleep was not coming easily. Maybe it would be better to return home for a few hours of rest and come back later?

A knock sounded at the door and Finn stepped into the room. "Elijah, we're going to go home. Rebekah's upset and we need to track down mother."

Elijah nodded.

"I also wanted to inform the two of you," he began turning his attention to Elena's family. "That the rest of Elena's friends have opted to head out as well and will return later."

Alaric sighed, running a hand through his hair. He was torn on what to do. He didn't want to leave, it didn't matter that Elijah was with her or not. What if she woke up while they were gone? What if something happened and she took a turn for the worst? He hated that his body was demanding for more comfortable lodgings. He supposed he could have just ignored it and tried to get sleep there, but he'd probably regret it in the long run. "Maybe we should head out too, Jeremy?"

"I'm not leaving her," he denied. "You go ahead and go, Rick."

"…Okay…" He fished his keys out of his pocket. "When I come back I'll bring you a change of clothes. Call me if anything changes?"

"Of course," Jeremy said, settling into his seat. Minutes later, he and Elijah were left alone with a slumbering Elena. He watched Elijah move his chair closer to the bed before taking her hand and closing his eyes. "What are you doing?"

Smiling down at his lover, he answered the teenager. "I'm going to go into her dreams…if she's dreaming." He'd never attempted such a thing while someone was in a coma, he'd never had a reason to. "Her current state wasn't brought on by trauma, she might just be a little lost inside her mind. Maybe I can find her and bring her back."

"It's worth a shot."

Elijah nodded once.

"What?" Kol asked, stepping into his mother's bedroom. "What did you find?" He asked, staring at a dumbfounded Klaus. As soon as they'd arrived home, the four of them split up to cover more ground. They'd all ended up empty handed thus far.

Finishing the letter in his hand, Klaus cleared his throat. "Elena will be fine."

"And mother, where is she?" Rebekah asked as she and Finn joined the pair, both having heard Klaus' words.

Dropping his hands down to his sides, the hybrid slowly approached her. "Rebekah…"

Between the look on his face and the tone of his voice, she knew the answer without him having to acknowledge it. "No…"

Finn quickly pulled her into his embrace.

"This has been the happiest day of my life, Elijah. I don't want it to ever end," Elena sighed, leaning further into his side.

"Who says it has to?" Elijah asked, opening his arm for her to settle more tightly against him. When she curled herself against his body, he settled his around her. "It could just be you and me forever, inamorata."

Elena frowned with the use of the nickname.

He couldn't see her face, but he felt her entire stiffen in his embrace. "What?"

Elena shook her head and pulled herself away from him. "I don't like that name."

He chuckled. "What? Since when?"

Elena looked around the area. "I…I don't know," she confessed as confusion settled in. The beach around them was picture-perfect. The water was the most vivid blue she'd ever seen, and they were completely alone. She could feel the salty air tickle her sun kissed skin. It was the most paradisiacal place she could imagine visiting but something didn't feel right.

Looking down at him, she felt an ache in her heart, but she couldn't remember why. Had he hurt her in some way? But if he did, wouldn't she have remembered? She moved her gaze down the length of the beach. How come they were alone? Where was everyone? Between the warmth of the sand, deep cerulean water and beautiful weather, they should have been lost in a sea of people.

"Something isn't right," she whispered.

Sitting up to join his lover, Elijah shook his head. "Oh course it is." He trailed a finger down her arm. "We're alone on a secluded beach where I am treated to the beguiling sight of you in a very red and very appealing bathing suit." Pushing the strap of her top down, he leaned in closer to her and began trailing kisses from her shoulder to her neck. "It is the perfect place to celebrate the fact that you just agreed to be my wife."

Raising her left hand, the overly large solitaire diamond sparkled in the sun. "Oh…" She brought it closer to her for inspection. She knew that a carat was a unit of mass equal to 200 mg, but she couldn't rightly guess just how many carats it was. "Oh…this is very pretty."

He chuckled against her skin. "Yes, you said that earlier," he purred against her.

Surrendering to the sensations he was causing, she closed her eyes and gave in to the moment.

"Elena?"

"Hmmm?"

"Elena?"

His voice lacked the arousing tone it possessed only seconds earlier. Why?

"Elena, open your eyes."

As soon as she followed the instruction, she pouted. Gone was the warmth of the sun and the beach. She no longer wore enticing bikini he had so much enjoyed. Instead of being encased in his arms, Elijah stood a few feet away from her, fully dressed. "Elijah?" She noticed the black back drop around them. "Where are we?" Standing up, she crossed her arms.

Elijah stepped up to her and cupped her face in his hands. "We're in your mind."

"What?" How were they in her mind? Why? Why did the feel of his hands on her body cause tingles?

"You're in the hospital."

AN: So, what do you guys think? I know that I didn't answer all of your questions, but at least you know that Elena will be fine.