Elijah was leaning on an old table, in the basement, sipping some wine from the glass as he watched Klaus negotiate with a vampire, who if he remembered correctly, was named Max. However, from the looks of it, the negotiation wasn`t going so well, and after a few minutes, all hell broke loose and a coven of vampires swarmed into the room upon hearing Max whistle. Being on alert as usual, Klaus didn`t get shocked and neither did Elijah, but the older brother soon found himself next to his younger brother, the duo fighting together to get rid of the vamps. A burning sensation in his elbow had Elijah looking down, a syringe on the floor catching his eye before it was crushed.

"They`re using vervain, watch out," he warned his brother even as several parts of his exposed flesh started to burn.

After what seemed like hours, but was really just 20 minutes, only three vampires were left, including Max, who now looked frightened. Klaus smirked; looking as if he had just had a hot cup of tea not killed a coven of his own race. A second later Elijah had ripped two of their hearts out, and only Max, who was shaking on his own two feet, remained. Klaus spared a look of concern at his brother as he stepped calmly next to him again, leaning a little heavily on the table. He looked as if he was ready to collapse any second actually, but right now Klaus didn`t have time to worry about brothers. He intended to make Max die in the worst possible way. His eyes flashed yellow and he felt his fangs press in his lower lip. He smirked wickedly upon seeing Max pale considerably. He knew that Elijah would not object, as his older brother was looking at them with a stoic expression, which usually meant that he won`t complain.

Elijah sure as hell wasn`t going to complain, he barely had enough strength to stand up, let alone pick a fight with his brother. The room was spinning, and the Original suspected that the amount of vervain injected in his blood stream was more than he originally thought. He was so lost in thought that he didn`t notice someone grabbing his elbow until Max yanked him straight into Klaus` line of fire. The pain that flared through his neck had the Original shouting out right in Klaus` ears, who stepped back when he heard the accent in the yell, an accent that Max certainly didn`t have. The vampire let out a wicked laugh before blurring out of the basement. Klaus was about to go after him, before he saw Elijah`s eyes roll to the back of his head as he fell in Klaus` arms, unconscious. The hybrid stood shocked for a couple of seconds, before gently lowering his brother to the ground, his upper body resting against his own. The suit-wearing vampire was motion-less, sagging against his younger brother as his features contorted in pain. Klaus made up his mind and scooped up Elijah in his arms, before running back to the mansion. He passed Hayley in the way, and the werewolf followed him to Elijah`s room, where he dropped the still unconscious man on the bed.

"Sit him up," Hayley commanded, already unbuttoning his suit jacket and shirt.

After they got the Original somewhat comfortable, Hayley went to the bathroom and got a small basin full of water and a clean cloth, which confused the hybrid greatly as he sat by his brother.

"What is that for?" Klaus asked, raising an eyebrow as she set it on the bedside table and drenched the cloth in water.
"We need to wash the bite, in case you didn`t know," Hayley said.
"Hayley wait!" Klaus half-yelled, stopping the werewolf just in time as a spot of warm water fell on the bite.
"What?" Hayley asked, letting out a huff of impatience.
"All I have to do is give him my blood and he`ll heal," Klaus said, smirking at the look on Hayley`s face.
"So why the hell didn`t you give him your blood already?!" she asked, outraged.
"No one asked," Klaus responded, before biting into his own wrist and putting it to Elijah`s mouth.

Elijah tried opening his eyes when the coppery taste of blood first touched his tongue. He felt his fangs extracting on pure instinct, and tried to move back even as he sucked on the blood. A sharp pain in his neck had him stopping, along with a gentle hand cupping the back of his head so that he could and would drink. He tried to open his eyes again, and was surprised to see a worried Klaus running his eyes all over his body, probably searching for injuries. He still felt weak because of all the vervain, and the blood that was healing his wounds was only making him more sleepy. Just then it struck him that he was shirtless. Upon noticing the jacket and shirt he had been wearing draped neatly over a chair he inwardly smirked. He was still draining his half-brother when he felt a hand gently incline his head, probably checking on the still healing wound. By the time it had healed, Klaus was as white as sheet and was barely sitting straight in the chair. Elijah hadn`t even noticed, as the rush of blood had him feeling a little drowsy. However, Hayley noticed and gently pried Klaus` wrist from his mouth, muttering him an order to sleep before getting out her cell phone. She called Rebekah, who didn`t answer but instead opened the door seconds later. She gasped upon seeing her half-brother half-asleep on the chair, before blurring next to him and trying to get his attention.

"Niklaus? Can you hear me?" she asked while gently slapping him.
"Stop slapping me Rebekah," Klaus said, shooting her a devil glare.
"I`m going to take you to your room, okay?" The girl asked, slipping an arm over her shoulders.
"The bed sure looks inviting right now," Klaus slurred, his accent thick with sleepiness.
"Yes, it does, come on now, let`s get you some blood then you can sleep," Rebekah soothed.
"Bed and Blood, are we watching movies as well?" Klaus asked sarcastically as his sister dropped him on the bed.
"No Klaus, now drink, and sleep," Rebekah commanded, shoving a blood bag in his hands.

He emptied the blood bag and Rebekah took it away from him and threw it away before helping her brother undress and snuggle into the blankets, where he fell asleep almost immediately. He still looked a little pale, but she didn`t give much notice, instead went to bid good night to Hayley and went to sleep.

-LINE BREAK-

Hayley woke up on the fluffy chair beside Elijah`s bed, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a still sleeping Original next to her. She found this weird, as Elijah usually woke up at the crack of dawn, but today it was already 9:30 and he was still asleep. She blamed it on the vervain and the werewolf bite he had gotten yesterday, and gently went to check on him. He looked fine enough, his face calm and serene in his sleep. He was lying on his stomach, and his face was being smothered by the pillow, however, she had never seen him as rested as he looked right now. She didn`t have time to finish the next thought as he stirred, his eyes fluttering open before sleepy, dark brown orbs stared right at her own, as if reading her very soul. His eyes crinkled in the edges as he gave her a small smile, before sitting up on his hunches, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Before she could blink, he was gone, taking a shower in the joined bathroom. She found herself doing the bed and stretching her stiff joints while he showered, and couldn`t help but think back to Klaus. He had looked pale yesterday, and she couldn`t help but worry, however, Elijah came out of the bathroom that second, stopping for a second in his tracks, stunned as he watched Hayley doing the bed. She smirked, she had never managed to stun the vampire before. He was clad in a normal shirt for once and a pair of jeans, and she couldn`t help the chuckle as he moved to help her, finishing the bed within seconds. He was troubled though, she could easily see that, so after he finished fluffing the pillows, she tackled him to the bed, pinning him underneath her. The original went to move, but considering their not so innocent positions, he stopped writhing immediately, a faint pink blush creeping up his cheeks.

"You`re blushing," she bluntly stated as his cheeks went a dark shade of red.
"I heard Elijah was blushing, is that so? I haven`t seen a blush on his face since Tatia kissed him," Rebekah said, fleeing into the room and staring at her brother, who was still lying on the bed, the werewolf pinning him down.
"Get Out Rebekah," Elijah muttered, feeling the tips of his ears burn.
"Fine, be sure to snap a picture Hayley," the blonde said, before fleeing out of the room.
"May I ask you why are you holding me down?" Elijah asked.
"What`s bothering you? Don`t you dare tell me nothing mister," she said, sitting on his stomach, feeling Elijah somewhat relax underneath her weight.
"It`s not important," he said instead.
"Hell not! Your sleepy gaze doesn`t hide anything," Hayley said, unconsciously kneading his palms with her knuckles.
"I don`t remember coming to the mansion yesterday, what happened?" he asked.
"Klaus carried you here after biting you by mistake, you almost drained him of blood," Hayley chuckled, and Elijah`s face drained of colour. "You fell asleep directly after, slept like a baby," she remarked.

He didn`t say anything, and she took that as a sign to get off of him, noting how he immediately visibly relaxed upon her getting off. She couldn`t help but chuckle as she noticed that his hair was a mess, and apparently he noticed as well as he reached up to somehow arrange it to make at least a little presentable. He was gone before she could blink after that, and she sighed softly before going to Rebekah`s room, hoping for some girly bonding.

Elijah went to the balcony to calm down his frazzled nerves, which came with a certain werewolf that decided to use his stomach as a cushion. Her weight didn`t affect him, but the fact that `she` was on top of him did. He was so lost in thought that he didn`t notice Klaus also coming out in the large balcony, resting heavily on the railing. A small chuckling had him looking at his side, briefly shocked as he saw his own brother laughing at him, for apparently no reason. A small pang of worry made its way to his chest as he noticed how red-faced Klaus seemed to be, and Elijah suspected that he was high on blood. However, after hearing the slight shiver, the suspect was gone in an instant and he looked worriedly at his brother, who looked as if he would collapse any second.

"So, what`s got you thinking so much this time?" Klaus asked, snapping Elijah out of his reverie.
"Nothing. I`m fine," Elijah responded, putting a hand in his pocket.
"That`s good, thought you would be down for a while with the bite and the vervain, certainly not a combination that gives you energy," Klaus muttered, his words slurred.
"What happened to you?" Elijah asked, reaching out to steady him.
"You mean after you passed out on me?" Klaus asked. "Well, I carried you here, gave you my blood, and then went to sleep. I wish I can sleep right now, the bed sure seems inviting..." he murmured before falling forward.
"Nicklaus? Klaus?" Elijah called out, but upon getting no reaction from the hybrid, he swung him over his shoulders and took him to his room.

After ridding him of his shirt, he put his brother under the blankets, and unconsciously put a hand to his brow, recoiling at the unnatural heat that was coming from him. He went out of the room, and soon came back with the two girls on tow, who frowned with concern as they say Klaus dead asleep on the bed; his golden locks the only thing visible as he had buried himself in the blankets in the five seconds that Elijah had taken to get Hayley and Rebekah. Rebekah put a hand on his cheek and as Elijah had already noticed, easily concluded that the usually cocky brother had a fever. He looked troubled, and names of woman and other words kept slipping out of his mouth. Meanwhile, Hayley had went to the bathroom and got a washcloth and a small basin, which she used to gently wipe Klaus` face with before pressing it to his brow, hoping to cool him down. He calmed under her touch, and Elijah couldn`t help the slight smirk that pulled at his mouth as he watched his brother unconsciously show his affection towards the pregnant werewolf. Hayley blushed as well, as she changed the cloth again. However, even her gentle caressing couldn`t stop him from reliving his worst nightmares.

"Celeste... Don`t... Elijah..." he kept muttering, unaware of his audience.
"Who`s Celeste?" Hayley asked, watching as Elijah`s face drained of colour again.
"Not important," The Original responded a little too fast.
"So in a thousand years of memory, something unimportant came in his feverish brain? As if I`ll believe that," Hayley said.
"She was a girl Elijah was in love with; she drowned in her bath tub. Elijah found her," Rebekah said, keeping her voice low as well as sympathetic.
"Ohh... I`m sorry Elijah, I didn`t know," Hayley said before the original fled from the room, leaving the girls alone with an unconscious Klaus.
"He really loved her, he`s still sensitive when her topic comes up," Rebekah said, frowning as Klaus seemed to settle back again.
"I`m going to go talk to him, stay with Klaus for a while," Hayley said before getting up and leaving the room as well.

She found him on the roof, leaning against the brick wall. A small shake seemed to go through his back, and she heard a small sob from her position, indicating that the Original was crying. She was shocked at that, Elijah rarely showed any emotion, except for a small frown or a smirk every now and then. However, she had never seen him cry before, and briefly wondered how much he loved Celeste. Another sob shook him and she moved quietly but swiftly behind him, and then hugged him from behind. She felt him tense in her small grip, but he soon relaxed upon seeing who it was. He was about to wipe his tears, and probably pretend that nothing had just happened, but she gripped his wrist, stopping him from moving his arms. She knew he was stronger than her, so he could move his arms anytime he wanted, just as he could have thrown her off when she had climbed on top of him on the bed. However, he halted all movement and just continued to stare at nothing at all as he got lost in memories. A few other tears made their way down his moist cheeks, and Hayley found herself wiping them away with the pad of her thumb. Elijah blinked and snapped back to the present, briefly shocking Hayley as she watched his eyes become guarded again.

"You okay now?" she asked gently.
"I`m fine Hayley. Don`t worry," The Original assured her before blurring the both of them downstairs.

He let her go just behind Klaus` door, and went to the bathroom, hoping to clean himself up a bit. His eyes were red and slightly puffy from the crying, but a hand full of cold water soon took care of that and after combing his hair again, he changed into a comfortable shirt and went back to his brother's room. Klaus was still asleep, his hair matted down to his forehead with sweat even as he shivered. He grabbed another washcloth and draped it on Klaus` neck, causing the hybrid to try and bury himself even more in the blankets as shivers wracked his frame.

"The Wolfs bane.."
"What?" Hayley asked.
"When we were fighting, the vamps had syringes on them, they injected me with vervain, hence me being weakened then passing out when Klaus bit me. They must have injected him with wolfs bane as well." he reasoned, his eyes lighting up.

"So? What does that have to do with him being feverish?" Hayley asked, refreshing the cloth again.
"If we consume more vervain, or in his case wolfs bane, than our body can tolerate, it will respond by making us feverish so we could literally sweat it out," Elijah explained, unconsciously rubbing circles on Klaus` chest as he thought.
"So how long till he recovers?" Hayley asked, frowning as Klaus muttered something again, fidgeting on the bed.
"Depends with how much he was injected with, considering that he got feverish a day later, I would say that by tomorrow evening the fever would have broken," Elijah said, rubbing his forehead.
"That`s good," Hayley muttered, before they lapsed into silence, each with their own thoughts as Klaus lay oblivious in the midst of them.

Hayley had fallen asleep around midnight, and Elijah had taken her to her room while he continued to take care of Klaus all night long. He was exhausted by the next morning, and Rebekah had told him to go nap while she watched over their brother. He had thanked her and went to sleep, unaware of a certain dark-skinned woman that was about to invade his dreams.

-LINE BREAK-

Rebekah was taking care of her big brother. He had woken up for a few minutes, but had been nowhere near lucid enough to recognize who she was. His temperature had gone down a little for now, and the nightmares seemed to cease, as he slept soundly without a single sound. However, her supernatural hearing alerted her of her other brother taking in a ragged breath as he bolted up in bed, the springs creaking under his weight. Hayley had come as well, and the two girls were chatting as they looked over him. As she suspected, about 20 minutes later Elijah came in the room, wordlessly helping her take care of their now fidgety brother. His temperature had seemed to went down a couple of degrees, and when Rebekah checked his temperature, she found it at a 99 degrees, which calmed them down. Five minutes had barely passed when Klaus shifted a little, then his eyes fluttered open. His jade eyes flickered for a few seconds, taking in where he was, before relaxing slightly upon noticing he was in his room. Elijah was standing to the side, silently observing as Hayley coaxed a still groggy Klaus to drink a glass of blood that was on the bed side table. He was relatively more aware after draining the glass and sitting up.

"What the hell happened?" Klaus asked.
"Besides acting without listening to me then let me drain you? You got a fever and was unconscious for two days." Elijah said, leaning against the wall.
"What did you tell me again?" Klaus asked.
"They were drugging you but you were so busy fighting that you didn`t took notice," Elijah said, his relief not hidden by the fake anger in his voice.
"I`m fine now, so what does it matter?" Klaus asked, smirking as Elijah shook his head.
"I don`t know, perhaps because you were an easy target while in this state?" Elijah countered.
"I don`t know about Rebekah, but you certainly wouldn`t let anybody do anything to me. Like you said, nobody hurts your family and lives." Klaus said with a small grin as Elijah collapsed on the bed, his shoulders sagged in relief.
"Doesn`t mean I will always succeed before something happens." Elijah muttered, frowning.
"Were you always a pessimist?" Klaus asked, ruffling his brother`s hair as Hayley suppressed a chuckle at his expression of disdain.
"I think I preferred you asleep." Elijah bluntly said.
"Because you weren`t sleeping?" Klaus asked.
"What gave you that impression?" Elijah asked, the slight choke after speaking betraying any hope of lying.
"You get cranky and your emotions are all over the place when you are tired. I barely touched your hand and I got a gazillion pictures of your thoughts," Klaus said, smirking at the look that Elijah gave him.
"We`re going to leave now," Hayley muttered, feeling as if she was interrupting a brotherly moment.
"Thanks love," Klaus said.

"So, what`s been nagging at you?" he asked his brother who was staring at a dent on the wall.
"Nothing." Elijah replied, stoic as ever.
"Nothing my ass Elijah. Something happened. What is it?" he asked.
"Nightmares happened." Elijah said emotionlessly.
"About?"
"None of your business."
"Celeste?"
"..."

Elijah didn`t respond, but a single tear ran down his cheek despite his effort not to cry. Klaus frowned a little before shifting so he could hug his brother, who was now fully sobbing on his shoulder. It wasn`t an everyday occurrence that Elijah fully showed his feelings, and Klaus didn`t mock him for once, but gently comforted him even as onslaughts of images flickered in his mind. Some of them included Elijah and Celeste kissing, him and Klaus fighting, him finding her in the bathtub, dead, his cries of anguish. Klaus stood shocked as he witnessed this, unconsciously rubbing Elijah`s back as the oldest brother started to relax a little in his grip. The thoughts also stopped, and Klaus found himself whispering soothing words as the brunette fell asleep in his arms, the whole ordeal of stressing about Klaus, lack of sleep and the sobbing having taken its toll on him. Klaus shifted both of them so that Elijah was laying down, and then promptly went to take a shower, rinsing away any remains of his fever. When he finished, Elijah was still dead to the world, and Klaus chuckled as he threw a blanket on his form before leaving the room to go kill a few vampires, including Max.

Elijah woke up a day later, and was momentarily surprised upon finding himself in Klaus` bed. He blurred to his room and took a shower before going to search for the hybrid. He found him on the balcony, where Elijah had first noticed that Klaus had a fever. The hybrid was staring at the city underneath him, but a small nod had Elijah knowing he was acknowledged. They stayed for a few minutes next to each other in silence, but eventually Elijah broke it.

"Thanks, for yesterday," he said, not looking at Klaus.
"That`s what brothers do right? You`re always badgering me about not being a good brother, so I decided to prove you otherwise." Klaus said.
"I congratulate you then, cause you succeeded." Elijah said with a smirk before the duo embraced.

They didn`t show it much in public, but not showing doesn`t mean that there was nothing. There is, and always will be, love between the Michelson siblings, and both of them knew this as they shared a glass of blood with their sister, as well as shared an oath to protect each other, forever and always.

Yeah, I don`t know why I always end these fics with "forever and always" but it is like an ending for vampire stories, so I just go with it xD

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this. Review please!