~~~Open Your Eyes~~~
It was so calm, so gentle.
The waves lapped at his feet, skimming at the tops of his shoes. He was sorely tempted to rip them off and go running into the water, but knew better. It was not the way he was raised.
"It's okay to let go and be free, you know," came a voice from his right.
He turned his eyes and found himself looking into magnificent coffee colored eyes.
Elena cast him a beautiful smile and gently placed her hand on his shoulder.
"It's all right," she whispered again.
He sighed and gave in. He pulled off his shoes with lightning speed and placed his feet into the low water. He let out another gust of breath and almost fell face forward when Elena gave him a push.
"Hey!"
She laughed an amazing laugh and started running down the beach. "Catch me if you can!"
He ran after her, his own laughter mixing in with hers. "I'm gonna get you!"
"Just try!"
He easily caught up with her and grabbed her around the waist, gently tossing her down into the sand. She giggled and looked up at him, her brown orbs starting to pull him in.
"Don't do that," he warned.
"Do what?"
"Give me that look."
"What look?"
"That look that you get when you want something!"
"Oh, you mean this look?" She propped herself up on her elbows and batted her eyelashes, pulling the perfect puppy dog face.
He groaned, immediately giving in. He leaned down, his lips a breath away from hers.
"I love you," he whispered. "You know that?"
"Oh, you big lug..." she found herself saying back. "I love you too."
She quickly closed the distance between their mouths, kissing him gently, but with enough passion to send electric currents down his spine. Her kiss...her touch...it was what he was craving to feel for his entirely too long of a life. It was her.
She was all he ever wanted.
"Daddy! Momma!"
Well, almost.
They sprang apart as the splashing of tiny feet quickly caught up to them.
"Are you two kissing again?" asked the five year old little boy.
He laughed and sat up, pulling their son into his arms. "Maybe."
"You guys are weird. Too lovey-dovey," said their son.
"We know. Aren't you so lucky?" chuckled Elena, kissing his forehead.
He laughed again, hugging the tiny boy to his chest. Her own arms circled the both of them, comfort and love and gentle-hearted peace finally evident, finally there.
Forever.
"Elijah? Elijah, can you hear me?"
He heard her voice from so far away. It felt like miles even though he knew she was right there beside him.
"Elena?"
His voice was raspy and froglike, sounding so unlike his. He could feel gentle hands on his own, feather light fingertips brushing against the back of his hands.
"Yeah, I'm here. Open your eyes. Please..." The last word was almost like a plea.
He worked at it, finally pulling the lids back on his eyes.
The first thing he saw was a pair of brown orbs, filled with worry and compassion. He felt like a lost puppy dog that she had found and was trying to nurse back to health.
Elena watched him closely, unsure of what to do other than hold his hand. She glanced over at Meredith who nodded encouragingly.
"You're all right," Meredith whispered, reassuring her.
"Elijah?" she whispered again, feeling quite stupid. His eyelids fluttered again and his fingers tightened around hers. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank god."
"So, are you going to tell me what happened?"
It was twenty minutes later. They were alone again, Meredith having left after hooking Elijah up to oxygen for another few hours before she discharged him. Elijah found the tubes annoying and unnecessary, already getting a sense of what was going on.
Elena could see the irritation in his face. Elijah wasn't a stupid man. Being in the hospital alone was a dead giveaway to what had happened.
"Your mother's spell didn't go as planned," she began slowly, crossing her arms tightly across her chest.
"What exactly are you saying?" he asked, already knowing what had happened.
"You're human, Elijah," said Elena, bluntness in her voice. "You are no longer a vampire. Your mom's spell didn't kill you, it turned you back."
Even though he already knew it, he was still alarmed and scared when the words came out of her mouth.
"What?"
At that moment, Elena's heart broke. He sounded so much like a little boy and it immediately brought out that maternal side of her.
Stop it, Elena.
"You're human," she repeated gently.
At that moment, Elijah realized the exact reason why he was in the hospital. He must have collapsed or was unconscious for a very long time to have been brought here.
"Why am I here?" he asked quietly.
"When the ritual happened, you collapsed. No one could wake you so you were brought here. Meredith has been your doctor so-"
"Yes, I understand."
"But you're doing fine. Meredith wants you to stay on oxygen for a few more hours and to spend one more night here so she can observe you and then you'll be discharged in the morning," Elena quickly explained. "You're all right."
Was she trying to assure him of that or was she trying to assure herself?
A thought dawned on Elijah's mind, causing a swoop of guilt to course through his steadily working body.
"What about my family? Where are they? Are they here?" he asked, worry lacing his usually crisp voice.
Elena swallowed noisily, praising the heavens that he couldn't hear her heartbeat anymore. She exhaled and inhaled one more time before opening her mouth to speak.
"The power that Esther channeled was too much for her to handle," she began slowly, her brown eyes on his face. "She didn't make it."
Elijah's face remained impassive. He wouldn't show his emotions. He had sworn that to himself so many years ago and just that one time, had almost allowed himself to feel in front of this girl. He wouldn't do that again. He wouldn't.
"What about the others? Niklaus and Kol, Finn and - Rebekah -"
A tear glittered in Elena's eye as the words spilled out of her mouth. "You're the only one that made it this far. Esther...Esther succeeded in killing the rest of your siblings. You are the only one that has survived."
It couldn't be possible. No, it just couldn't be.
He couldn't be the sole survivor.
Elena took in another breath, her eyes still on him. She could see the most inner parts of his shell starting to crack away and felt her heart go out to him.
It was like watching a small child trying to hold it together but sadly failing. First his bottom lip started to tremble, followed by water filling his eyelids to the brim. He began to swallow quickly, trying so hard to stem back the tears that were sure to follow. But he wouldn't let them fall. He would not let them fall.
Elena reached out and took one of his hands, taking it as a good sign that he didn't pull away. Her heart breaking even more, she brought his hand to her lips, gently kissing it. She didn't dare try to hug him even though she wanted to. It was that damn maternal side of her taking over again.
Or was it? Maybe she just wanted to hold her friend.
"I am so sorry," she murmured against the warm skin. "I am so, so sorry."
Elijah looked at her, knowing that she knew how he felt. But he wouldn't let it break out of him.
No.
For now, it was all right. What she was doing was probably the best thing for him.
They stayed that way for several minutes, Elijah staring straight ahead while Elena held his hand. Neither of them moved nor said anything.
No words were needed.
Elena lifted a shaking hand to knock on the door. Caroline answered seconds later.
"Hey, Elena," said Caroline, relief in her eyes. "I'm glad you came."
"Did you tell Bonnie about-?"
Caroline nodded. "Yes, I did. She says that she understands."
"How's Abby doing?"
Caroline sighed. "She's still out. She will have to make a decision once—"
"She wakes up," Elena finished, sadness in her throat. "I can't imagine what Bonnie's going through."
"She's just angry, Elena. She just got her mom back and now the fact that Abby's in transition and may not want to complete it once she wakes up is weighing on her mind so heavily. And it was all to protect you," whispered Caroline. "Don't get me wrong, I understand why you stayed away. But—"
"Will she see me?" asked Elena, tears closing her throat up.
Caroline shook her head. "No, not yet."
Elena took a deep breath. Being around vampires for so long had heightened her senses and she knew that Bonnie was around the corner.
"Bonnie, I love you. And I am so, so sorry that this happened to you. Please, call me when you want to talk to me. I will be there for you. I promise."
With that, Elena carefully stepped off the porch and disappeared back into the near evening air. Caroline quietly closed the door after her and looked down the hallway.
"Did you hear that?"
Bonnie stepped out into view. "Yeah."
"She loves you so much, Bonnie. You have to let her help you," whispered Caroline.
"My mother may become a vampire because of her. And now she's staying with that Original and—"
"Elijah's human again. It's the whole cosmic interlude crap. Abby turns into a vampire and Elijah turns into a human," Caroline invented wildly.
"You're right," Bonnie sighed.
Caroline stared at her. "I am?"
Bonnie chuckled. "Nothing, never mind."
"You are both going to need each other so much," said Caroline, her eyes soft with sympathy. "Let it happen."
"Since when did you become such a relationship philanthropist?" asked Bonnie.
Caroline chuckled. "Ever since I became a vampire," she murmured. "Come on, let's go check on your mom and then you can call Elena."
Elena got back to the hospital within thirty minutes to find Alaric standing outside of Elijah's room.
"Ric, what are you doing here?"
"Came to check on you. I got this garbled message from Caroline telling me that you were staying here at the hospital with Elijah. Can someone explain to me what the hell is going on?"
"Damon didn't tell you?" asked Elena.
"He told me that the ritual went all 'flooey' and that all the Originals are dead except Elijah. He said that Elijah is human again," said Ric.
"He is human again, Alaric. He was unconscious for the night and woke up this morning," said Elena.
"Does he know about his family?"
"Yes, I told him."
Alaric sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. He wasn't even going to try to argue with his surrogate daughter because he knew he would lose.
"Be careful, Elena. Just because he is human again…"
"Yes, Dad, I will be careful," said Elena, a swoop of love and gratitude for the man in front of her racing through her body.
Alaric stepped forward and pulled Elena's head towards him, laying a quick kiss on her forehead. He swept past her without a backwards glance.
Elena watched him go before she turned back into the hospital room, carefully opening the door and slipping inside.
Elijah was fast asleep in the big white bed, still hooked up to oxygen. She glanced at the chart on the door and saw that Meredith had ordered another four hours of oxygen just to be on the safe side. She could understand why; becoming a human after being a vampire for 1100 years would take her breath away, too.
She watched the man as he slept, her eyes raking over everything about him. How smooth his skin was, not a blemish, not a flaw. How granite-like his jaw seemed, how sturdy. His shorn hair was sticking up all over the place, his long brown lashes laying against his skin in a gentle way.
Whoa, knock it off Elena.
Ah, hell. She could at least finally admit it to herself.
Elijah was downright hot.
She let out a loud sigh and quickly clamped her hand over her mouth, her eyes watching her friend's sleeping form. Luckily, he didn't rouse. She lowered herself back onto the wooden chair and pulled a magazine off the table in front of her, getting ready for another long day.
