By Your Side, Chapter 10, Fall If You Want To
I own nothing except the plot... and a pervy iPod that likes to constantly play anything with the slightest bit of innuendo while I'm trying to write.
This chapter earns it M rating... if that's not your thing, click the back button now
~*~I~*~
Lying near you, swear you can feel me
Reach your hand and try to touch the skin
But it's just you breathing
Torn fabric, wrapped around you
Hands shaking, as you're reaching out
To cover that mirror now
Jeremy knocked on the door of the room his sister had been given, a steaming mug of coffee in his hand as a peace offering.
"What?"
He winced at the venom in her tone but sighed and slowly opened the door anyway, poking his head round; wary of any possible objects that might come flying towards him. He saw her sitting at the head of the bed as he stepped into the room, closing the door again behind him.
"Oh, it's you," Elena huffed, "What do you want? I thought you'd be busy with your best friends."
She sneered the last part, and Jeremy scowled at her. "Give it a rest 'Lena, neither Rebekah or Bella have done anything to you, in fact Bella has probably saved a lot of lives."
"Where are Stefan and Damon?" She asked, her jaw set stubbornly.
"They're alive, that's all I've been told." Jeremy fudged the truth a little, not wanting Elena to try anything stupid. Which he knew she would if she knew they were only downstairs in the basement.
He handed Elena the mug, sat at the foot of the bed and looked his sister seriously. "Do you have any actual idea of what Klaus and his family can do? They could kill half this town in a blink if they chose to, and you went along with a plan to kidnap the main thing that is stopping them from doing that."
"I didn't have anything to do with it." She protested, sounding weak even to her own ears.
"You knew'Lena, and you could have stopped it. Instead, you let an innocent girl be thrown into a locked room, in an abandoned cellar. Not to mention the fact that you then wanted to use Bella as a trump card to blackmail your way out of this ritual you'd agreed to do."
He sighed and looked away. "Look, I don't want you to have to do this thing, I really don't, but you never should have involved Bella, she had nothing to do with it and it wasn't right!"
Elena nodded, not really able to argue the point with him. "What's going to happen tonight?" She asked quietly instead.
Her mind whirled as Jeremy explained that they were doubling up on their methods to keep her alive as a precautionary measure. Not only would she drink an elixir that would bring her back instantly, but they would have witches cast a protection spell on her; ensuring that she would be brought back if the elixir failed at what it had been made to do.
Elena wasn't about to let go of her issues with Klaus and his family, especially after them forcing her to go through with this, but she wouldn't go directly after Bella again, Anything that she did plan, she would make certain Jeremy would have no clue about it, as she decided that she obviously couldn't trust him.
At around the same time, in her shared room upstairs, Bella slowly woke up to find herself snuggled against a solid male body. She was mildly startled at first, but instead of panicking she just stretched a little, and then cuddled closer as the familiar muscular arms tightened around her.
"Mmmm…" Kol hummed sleepily above her head, "You okay, darling?"
Taking a second to marvel at the fact that she hadn't had any nightmares, Bella nodded into his chest as one of his large hands stroked up and down her back.
"I could really get used to this you know." He said, his voice thoughtful. Bella looked up at him questioningly.
"I could get used to waking up with you in my arms." He clarified and she blushed lightly burying her face back against his chest.
With a grin Kol shifted suddenly, moving them both so that they were lying on their sides, Bella pressed between him and the back of the couch as they faced each other.
Their faces almost level now, Kol leaned in, his mouth no more than an inch from hers. "If you don't want this, now is the time to say so." He breathed.
Bella could practically feel his lips moving as he spoke, he was so close now. She was hyper aware of everywhere they touched, their entwined legs, his hand resting on her hip…
With a noise somewhere between a whimper and a sigh she closed the gap between them and lightly pressed her lips to his. For a second he was motionless and she panicked that she'd done the wrong thing, and then he came to life.
A deep groan rumbled out of him as he pulled her closer, the arm underneath her shifted, his hand now in her hair, angling her head so that he could kiss her deeper, the other hand grasping her leg, hitching it up to rest over his hip.
Bella gasped against his mouth at the feel of his body pressed so intimately against her and Kol took the opportunity to slide his tongue against hers, the hand at her hip holding her tightly against him as she kissed him back.
He'd never really been all that bothered about kissing before, thinking of it as more of a means to an end than anything, but with Bella he could happily spend all day here attached to her lips.
Pulling back to let Bella breathe, Kol ducked his head and kissed down her neck while she obligingly tilted her head back for him. Her fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of his neck, tugging lightly and making him growl as he sucked on a spot just above her collarbone.
Her inexperience all but forgotten, Bella whined and pressed herself against Kol as he slowly moved back up to her lips, the kiss becoming almost feverish as he mapped out her mouth, their tongues twisting together.
Neither of them had any idea of how much time had passed, but the sound of a throat clearing broke through their haze suddenly. Bella hid her face as Kol grumbled, lifting his head enough to see Elijah standing in the doorway, looking vaguely uncomfortable.
"Can we help you brother?" Kol asked, smirking as his irritation giving way to amusement when he saw how awkward Elijah looked.
Elijah smiled internally as he caught sight of his brother's face. No matter how Kol tried to downplay it, he could see through the cocky facade and right now his little brother was all but radiating bliss.
"It's nearly time to leave for the ritual, I wanted to check you were… awake." He wore a faint smirk of his own now.
Kol looked down for a moment, noting the fact that not only were they both more than a little bit turned on, but he could clearly feel the heat from Bella's blushing through his shirt. He looked back up at Elijah with a lazy grin.
"We might need a few moments here."
~*~II~*~
All those days and nights you planned your future
Thought the river could never reach your home
But oh how swiftly it comes
Laying there, naked in the moonlight
The cool water never quite touches your soul
Makes you want it all the more
Kol was in his new favoured position with Bella, his chin resting on her head as he stood behind her. His arms were wrapped tightly around her, and she was wearing his jacket which absolutely swamped her.
He had taken it off and given it to her when she'd started shivering. The wind had picked up, but it didn't really bother him; his shirt had long sleeves anyway which kept him warm enough.
Bella was watching transfixed, and just a little bit freaked out, as three circles of fire burned brightly in the field in front of them. In one was a female werewolf called Jules, who was known for placing herself near human campsites during each full moon. She had also recently attacked a vampire that the Mikaelsons had known named Rose, killing her.
Elijah had located Jules a couple of days previously, and now she had spell on her to hold off the change that the full moon would have triggered. Mercifully, perhaps, for her, she was lying unconscious on the floor. Even then, she still twitched and groaned occasionally from the pain of not being able to transform.
In the second circle was the vampire Katherine Pierce, also known as Katerina Petrova, who raged and spewed insults at them all. The decision to use her in the ritual had been an easy one. It would be somewhat fitting due to the role she should have played in it centuries before. She was far from being an innocent sacrifice, due to the fact that she had often sacrificed the lives of others to save her own.
Though Niklaus could have chosen to use anyone he wanted, he respected Bella's one major request of him – that he avoid taking innocent life where possible, and he had taken it into account when choosing his sacrifices.
Of the three, the only one who could be considered even remotely innocent was Elena, the Doppelganger, who was standing quietly in the third circle looking nervous but resigned as she stared straight ahead. Klaus and Elijah both had taken measures to ensure her survival. The elixir that had been acquired centuries before by Elijah for Katerina was now in the Doppelganger's system and if it failed, the protection spell Klaus had his witches cast would bring her back to life.
Bella looked over at where Elena's brother Jeremy was standing nearby. He had hardly taken his eyes off his sister since they'd arrived. It had been a tough decision to make whether or not to be present. He may have disagreed with his sister's choices, but he wanted to be there for her in any way he could.
Not far away from Jeremy, Rebekah stood; half watching the proceedings, half keeping an eye on the boy she was quickly becoming very fond of.
On the other sides of the field were Elijah and Finn, spaced out in such a way that there was an Original on all four sides of the field, surrounding the area where the ritual would take place.
Just outside the flaming rings, Niklaus was with his witches, Greta and Jonas Martin who were preparing a small stone altar with a bowl on top, ready to start breaking the curse as soon as the moon hit its peak. He paced and fidgeted as the moon called to him. He had never been able to transform or access his wolf side, even though, at each full moon, his body felt as if it were trying to answer that call. Every time a full moon occurred, it made him restless, and served as a reminder of what had been stolen from him a thousand years before.
As he paced, Niklaus fiddled with the ring he wore. One of the last things their mother had done for them all had been to make their rings, all matching, set with a Lapis Lazuli stone; they served as protection from the sun. He was struck with the sudden notion that after tonight he would no longer have a need for the ring, and for a moment wondered whether he should continue to wear it. Then an idea struck him and he smiled, just a brief twitch of his lips, as he slipped the ring off his middle finger.
Leaving behind the witches and their preparations for a moment, Klaus walked towards where his younger brother stood with Bella in his arms.
Bella watched Niklaus curiously as he approached, wondering what he could want so close to his ritual. He stopped in front of the couple and without a word he reached out and lifted Bella's arm, pushing up the too-long jacket sleeve to reveal a hand, and getting her to hold it out as he carefully dropped the ring into her palm.
Bella gasped as the metal touched her, knowing exactly what it was that she'd just been given. She looked up at Nik stunned but all he did was nod, knowing she would understand the gesture and what it meant.
As she gazed back down at the ring in her hand astonished, Nik looked to Kol who was still holding her.
"Stay with her tonight brother," he said low enough so that Bella wouldn't hear him, "Look after her, she'll need you."
Kol raised an eyebrow at Nik's request, but nodded. It was something he would have done anyway without being asked; Bella was his main priority now. Plus the idea of spending all night with her was more than a little appealing.
Niklaus watched as his brother's features instantly softened as he looked back down at Bella again, and he knew he had nothing to worry about as far as they were concerned.
"It's time." Greta called suddenly, and Klaus grinned, just for a second looking like an excited boy before his familiar smirk dropped into place.
He walked back over to where Greta stood with her father and reached into his pocket, retrieving the Moonstone that Elijah had acquired only shortly before they had re-established contact with each other.
Greta took the stone and dropped it into the stone bowl in front of her which was now filled with flames. Watching the stone spark as it is destroyed, she began to chant in Latin, her father gripping her hand, lending her his energy to help power the spell.
Klaus walked towards the first circle as the flames died out. The werewolf barely had time to open her eyes before Klaus was on her, unceremoniously tearing out her heart before she could move. He took it back to the altar and squeezed it over the bowl making it sputter.
A moment later Greta nodded to him and he approached the second circle with a malicious smile. Katherine attempted to run as the flames dropped but Niklaus was much too fast for her, and had her by the throat before she could take more than a couple of steps.
"Five hundred years of running from me Katerina… and yet here you are, dying by my hand. Was it worth it?"
"Bastard." She hissed in reply.
"Well yes," He chuckled, amused, "But then isn't that what started this entire mess in the first place?"
With a flourish he pulled out a stake and used it on Katherine, staking her through the heart. Even as she started to turn grey he dragged her body over to the altar and cut her neck, angling it so that her blood dripped into the stone bowl, before tossing her aside with obvious disgust.
Bella looked at Jeremy worriedly as Greta continued her chanting. As much as they knew Elena would be coming back this would be hard for him. Sure enough, as Klaus approached the final circle containing Elena, Jeremy made a strangled noise in his throat; his body going rigid.
The last ring of flames died down as Niklaus slowly approached. Elena watched him with wide eyes as he walked towards her.
"I'll make it quick and painless love" Was all he said as he gently tilted her head, honouring his promise to Bella to hurt the Doppelganger as little as possible.
Jeremy watched as Niklaus bit into his Elena's neck, and fell to his knees. Bella pulled away from Kol and rushed to his side, dropping down on her own knees beside him and hugging him tightly while he watched in horror as his sister essentially died in front of him.
Kol and Rebekah stood protectively over the two humans as Bella supported Jeremy. They all watched as Niklaus carefully laid down Elena in the grass and straightened up tilting his head back as he looked up at the moon. The flames in the bowl snuffed out and an eerie silence fell over them all.
"Yes!" Niklaus hissed when his bones suddenly began to crack, his transformation beginning. His eyes turned yellow even as the veins remained underneath them and he fell to the ground, panting as the change took hold forcing him to his hands and knees as his bones shifted.
A few moments, and it was done. In front of them was a wolf, slightly larger than an average one. His colouring was striking; he looked mostly black in the darkness of the night, but as he moved slightly, the moonlight shone on the lighter silvery grey fur across his back and head, making it stand out.
He stared at them for a long moment, his yellow eyes taking in every detail, and then he huffed and shook himself out, his thick fur rippling with the movement. With one last look, that Bella would have sworn was a wolfy smirk, he turned and loped away, darting into the nearby woods and disappearing from view.
Elijah was the first to move, quickly appearing beside Elena and carefully scooping her up into his arms. It would be far more comfortable to wait for her to awake back at the house, and far more comfortable for her if she were to awake on a bed.
Leaving Greta and Jonas to clear up the altar and assist Finn to dispose of the bodies, Rebekah and Kol helped Jeremy and Bella up from the ground and the four of them followed Elijah as he headed back towards home.
~*~III~*~
No one can take this from you
No, we can't carry this for you
But you can stand if you want to
Or fall if you want to
I'll do the same as you
You can dance if you want to
Or break if you want to
I'll do the same as you
The same as you
Bella yawned sleepily as she sat curled up on the couch with Kol in their movie room. She was enjoying being cuddled up with him far too much after the last few days to want to go to bed, so she fought to stay awake.
When they had got back to the manor she had stayed with Jeremy while he waited for Elena to come to. Her heart had started beating again before they had even arrived, which had been a huge relief, so it didn't take her that long to open her eyes.
The first thing she had done was demand that Bella leave the room and then it hadn't been long afterwards that Jeremy had followed, shaking his head sadly. Elijah had offered to keep an eye on her for them, just in case there were any lingering effects from the elixir and the spell, so Jeremy had headed to the room he was staying in, hurt by his sister's refusal to speak to him.
Rebekah had joined Bella and Kol in their room for a while but she had disappeared, to check on Jeremy they assumed, and now Bella was trying to put off going to bed for as long as she could. After the last couple of days, just the idea of being alone scared her, and she didn't want to assume that Kol would want to spend the night with her again, even if he did say she was his mate.
Kol looked down as another wide yawn escaped Bella and she snuggled deeper into his side. It wouldn't take much for her to fall asleep right where she was, and as much as he'd enjoy that, she needed to sleep properly in a bed. Remembering Klaus' request, as well as feeling an intense desire to have her in his arms for the night, he bent his head down towards her.
"Will you stay in my room with me tonight, darling?" He murmured in her ear. Bella predictably blushed red at his words and he couldn't help but smirk. "While I would absolutely love to know exactly what thoughts have you blushing that way, I actually meant to sleep. Something that you are desperate need of."
Bella nodded, her face flaming, as Kol got up and offered her a hand to help her rise from the couch. "Go get changed sweetheart." He said softly as he tidied the room and switched off the TV.
A few moments later, Bella returned and was lingering in the doorway of Kol's bedroom. She smiled as she saw the soft flannel pants he'd changed into while she had gone to get into her tank top and flannel shorts.
Kol turned, and with a smile of his own waved her over as he turned down the sheets on the bed. Bella took the hand he held out to her, timidly looking at the floor.
Though she had spent part of the night with Kol after she'd been taken, they hadn't been alone. Other than that she had only napped on the couch a few times with him, and it had never been planned before so she was a little bit nervous. Spending the night with Kol could and probably would have entirely different connotations than spending those nights with Edward had.
"What about your family? Won't they think I'm…" Bella asked with that thought in mind, fumbling for the right word as a faint blush coloured her cheeks yet again.
"A strumpet?" Kol suggested, laughing softly, "No, not at all, darling."
"But…" Her cheeks were all but glowing now, and he brushed the back of his fingers across one soothingly as he spoke his next words.
"Sweet girl, even if it is for no other reason… it is best you are not alone at night until you feel better, and I'd prefer you to be in my bed because it makes me feel better. I'll even sleep on the couch in my room if it will make you more comfortable." Kol offered really hoping she wouldn't request that of him.
"Nothing untoward is happening here, darling, mores the pity..." the last bit was muttered, and he grinned as Bella heard it and giggled, blushing and slapping his arm. "And even if it was, you're my mate." He shrugged as if that explained everything, which to him it did.
"Now," He winked cheekily before she could ask anything else, "Get that cute little arse into my bed."
Bella snorted but did as he said, sliding under the sheets and sighing contentedly as he switched off the lamp and followed her, pulling her close as they lay down.
Bella had secretly hoped that there might have been a little repeat of their time on the couch earlier that day, but she was so exhausted that her head barely had rested on the pillow before she was asleep.
It was no more than a couple of hours later, when Kol suddenly found himself awake.
Not entirely sure what had woken him up at first, he blinked and looked around the room, feeling puzzled for a second when he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Then Bella shifted next to him, her face scrunched up as she cried out fearfully in her sleep.
Immediately he moved, first rearranging Bella so that she was practically lying on his chest as he stroked up and down her back, then he placed his other hand on her head, trying to access her dream.
He slipped into her mind easily enough but to his dismay as some sort of side effect of her shielded mind, he couldn't actually affect anything there, all he could do was watch what Bella was seeing.
Having instantly seen more than enough to understand her terror, he quickly retreated from her mind and started to gently shook her shoulder in an attempt to wake her.
Bella jolted awake and sat up, a scream dying away in her throat as Kol quickly sat up with her and pulled her into his arms. With a stifled sob she buried her face against his neck, inhaling his comforting scent as he held her and carried on gently stroking her back.
"Shh, sweet girl, you're safe here," he whispered as she clung to him, "I've got you, darling."
As her shaking subsided Kol lay back down, gently pulling Bella with him so that they were lying facing each other.
Their eyes met for a long moment, Kol's dark eyes intense as he looked at her, until Bella couldn't take it and for the second time that day, leaned forward and kissed him fleetingly.
"Make me forget, please." She breathed before leaning forward again. This time he met her half way, lips first brushing sweetly and then becoming firmer against hers.
Breaking away to kiss down her neck Kol gripped Bella's hip and tugged her against him then running his hand down her thigh to her knee, pulling it up so that her leg rested over his hip the same as it had earlier in the day. Only this time Elijah wouldn't be interrupting them.
Kol's hand caressed Bella's bare thigh and she gasped softly as he trailed open mouthed kisses up her neck on his way back to her lips, detouring to her ear to whisper to her. "I'll gladly make you forget your own name, any time you wish, darling."
Bella's whimper at his words was cut off as he kissed her deeply, the hand still stroking her leg moving up to pull her tightly against him as he slowly ground his hips into her.
With a long low groan of satisfaction Kol kept up the slow grinding while Bella tipped her head back moaning softly as he moved against her.
Enjoying the delicious friction far too much, Kol shifted his hips back and slid his hand from Bella's ass up over the leg still wrapped around him and round towards her front. She tensed for a split second as his fingers brushed lower and then she was kissing him, her fingers tangled in his hair as he teased her through her shorts.
Sensing that she had relaxed totally against him he moved his hand again, this time upwards so that he could slip under her clothes and continue the teasing movements without any barriers.
Bella broke away from his lips to moan breathlessly as his fingers stroked and circled, any inexperience or insecurities left behind as he pleasured her.
"Have you forgotten your name yet?" He asked softly, his breath warm against her ear as he leaned in to whisper.
"Oh god." Was all Bella could whimper in reply as he flicked his fingers expertly, bringing her closer to the edge.
"I'll take that as a yes." Kol couldn't help the brief satisfied smirk as Bella writhed in front of him, lost in her bliss, and then he watched entranced as she fell apart, his name on her lips as she came.
Unable to resist as he pulled his hand away, he sucked on his fingers, a low rumbling sound escaping him at her taste.
With another low growl he kissed Bella again, gently rolling her onto her back and following her, bracing his weight on his arms as he positioned himself between her thighs and deliberately ground down against her.
Through the two thin layers of cotton that separated them, Bella could easily feel all of him rock hard against her. She moaned as he managed to rub against her and hit all the right places. Still as sensitive as she was, it didn't take much before she was right on the edge again and then she was falling, floating as she moaned his name.
The sight of Bella's flushed face and the feel of Bella's heat against him as she came again was Kol's undoing and he thrust, once, twice more and followed her, his face buried in her neck as he trembled against her.
Then the only sound was their breathing, gradually slowing to normal as they both came down. Kol lifted his head and raised a hand to gently stroke Bella's flushed cheek before rolling off her, and in a blur of movement getting up changing out of his plaid bottoms into a fresh pair, appearing back beside her in no more than a few seconds.
Bella smiled sleepily as he grinned at her before wrapping his arm around her as she settled her head on his chest, letting his slow heartbeat slowly sooth her into sleep.
Somewhere between sleeping and awake, she thought she felt Kol kiss the top of her head and murmur to her and she was left to wonder whether it had been real or a dream as he'd said the words.
"I love you."
If you stand now, with you I'm gonna stand
If you love now, with you I'm gonna love
If you fall down, with you I'm gonna fall
If you love, I'm with you, gonna love
Chapter title and lyrics are from Same As You ~ The Fray
Huge thanks (and blue popsicles) to Mommy4Thomas for not only being beta for this chapter, but also for being a sounding board all the way through. You're my cosmic twin and you're awesome, never forget it!
Thank you to everyone who continues to review, follow or favourite. It helps keep me writing :)