Disclaimer: I own nothing. Alright so it's been awhile, but I honestly think that this chapter make up for it. Major plot development, also… ah, you might need a tissue, or you know several. Just a heads up.


Chapter 11 – Elijah's P.O.V

Serena was already in the car when after I had pulled on dry clothing at topmost speed. She said nothing for the short duration of our journey and for that I was glad. Fear had gelled like ice, solid and burning in my veins. The spell was over. For now Mina and our child were safe. So why did I feel like she was still dying? Finn and Niklaus stood in the church with two officers and the priest, as I strode in with Serena following like a shadow – unseen and unnoticed, a wide grin appeared on Niklaus's face.

"Good. You're here, let's kill her," he said with eyes that glowed the tinniest of fractions with his wolf. At that moment, for the life of me I could not recall exactly why I had agreed to Mina's deal.

"No," I replied, disliking the feeling of the word escaping my lips.

"Do you mean no, 'I wish to kill her myself' or no 'We are not going to kill her'," Finn asked in a tone of voice that dripped in deadly promise should I answer wrongly.

"The latter," I answer unhappily, "Mina made me give my word." For some reason I felt the need to give justification, and it only brought my sibling a disgusted expression marred with bitter laugher.

"If Mina could make you do anything, what makes you think that she would waste such a chance on something so little as the life of the woman directly responsible for trying – and nearly succeeding I might add, in killing her unborn child," Niklaus fairly snarled at me furiously.

"Indeed," Finn agreed seeming more sad than angry. I was unsure how he did it, because I was fairly certain that anger was all that was keeping me upright.

"I will not be allowing this creature to live. To cause harm to my sister and her child," Niklaus shouted at me, eyes suspiciously glimmering at the very idea that I wanted this. Mina had a plan and I for one was going to see it through.

"Niklaus, you have asked for my forgiveness for daggering me and I will grant you that forgiveness if you do not make me break my word," I intoned carefully, "Neither I or my siblings, shall kill the witch known as Agnes. That was my promise." For a moment he stood and stared at me, as if trying to see some hidden agenda that the rest were not privy to, then he stepped back.

"Well then, how's that for personal growth?" he asked rebelliously, as ever. My answer, whatever it would have been, was swiftly interrupted by the sound of metal tearing through flesh and a familiar squelching sound. There stood Serena, eyes blazing with fury, and elbow deep in the witches stomach.

"Burn in hell," the normally sweet girl hissed venomously, and then she yanked her hand back with force. In near slow motion my mind processed what was happening, as the vulgar witch's head snapped back, as if someone had pulled the plug on her very existence… or an extremely furious blonde armed with a knife and sheer rage had ripped her spinal cord free from her skull. "Heathen skank," she spat, as the body clattered messily to the floor. I felt my eyes widen in surprise. Something about her in that moment… I felt as though I had met her before New Orleans, known her before I possibly could have had. As if in a dream, or a dream of a dream. A sharp pain flared in my temples at the thought, and I pushed it away to catch what Niklaus was saying to her.

"Sweetheart we're keeping you," he informed her with a grin that screamed wickedness. I briefly wondered if I should enlighten her to the fact that the 'we' my brother spoke of did not pertain to our family, but rather to himself and Miss Forbes. Given the fact that she had been helping Mina undermine my self-control at every opportunity, I elected not to. The rage had dimmed down, and she looked at her hands with something quite like guilt, and something else I could not decipher.

"Mmmhm," she hummed back, gaze flittering to her bloody hands and then to the body on the floor.

"Are you alright?" Finn asked her, while I was basking in the glow of relief bought by the corpse of that woman. The blonde bit her lip, and held her silence for a moment.

"I've never done anything like this," she says finally, "Never really been mad enough, and had it be necessary. I think I feel kind of sick." She did seem paler than normal.

"You did just slice open a woman and disconnect her spinal cord from her head," the priest interjected, eyeing the girl wearily. As for the first time he was actually paying her any attention.

"And I feel no remorse. No guilt, no wanting to take it back and if you rewound time and I found myself back before I got here…. I wouldn't just walk in here and kill her, I'd enjoy it. Again," she admitted quietly, "And that's why I feel sick." The man took a step back at the sheer honest that radiated from every single one of her words. That Mina had such a protector as her… I imagine it made me feel downright warm and fuzzy, if only I could remember what it felt like. Still, the innocent carefree klutzy girl had been stripped down to her bare essentials over this act… and I knew that I preferred her when she had not been. With her mascaraed of happiness, and cheer.

"She did just try to force a miscarriage on one of your dearest friends," Finn spoke softly.

"Not to mention the good fathers nephew, of whom she hexed to massacre nine of his fellow seminary students and then himself somewhere in a general that way direction," Niklaus tacked on, waving his hand dramatically. She smiled brightly and it seemed as if the whole alteration had never happened, and then I immediately felt sick. Mina smiled that same smile whenever she was pretending that she was okay, to see it now made me realise just where she had learned it, just how much it was capable of masking and that she had done it more often than I had been able to see.

"Can we go home now?" she asked looking from my brothers to me.

"Yes," I answer before either of the others get the opportunity. We leave, with the witch's corpse staining the church floor. The sight at that greeted us when we arrived had fear twisting in my insides, threatening to pull them out in a scene much like the one I had just witnessed. Kol was sitting in the kitchen, music blasting into his eardrums and clutching a bottle of whiskey like it was the only think keeping him upright. Before I could fully contemplate what this meant, a tearful Rebekah barrelled over to us. SLAP! Her still raised hand shook as she dissolved into a fit of tears.

"You utter bastard," she hissed out, before having to stop and sob. Mina. Something bad had happened to Mina, but I could not force my legs to move. Could not open my mouth to speak, as if I had been welded into a statue. "You're killing her," my sister choked up, "Damn it why?" The weight of her pain and lamentation had her staggering, as if grief made her unsure of her ability to stand.

"Rebekah," Niklaus started but she hissed at him, her vampire visage showing in her anger and sadness. I didn't… I couldn't…

"Don't you dare excuse him. She isn't… she still looked sick… and when she tried… tri… ed to pretend everything was fine… I called her on it," she explained as much her tears and gut wrenching sobs would allow, "She asked me if there w… w… was any… anything wrong, and I, I thought… she was scared. So I told her she was fi… fine. She… wasn't… wasn't scared." I wanted, I didn't know what I wanted. It felt as if I was made of stone, and if I moved the tinniest bit I would shatter into a million pieces. The thought alone almost had me twitching my fingers. Rebekah's legs finally gave out and Finn caught her. His front pressed to her back as she hung limply, and devastated in his arms.

"Shhh, breathe sister," Finn said soothing her gently.

"After. She… asked… she asked…. S…s…s…she said..." she cried horribly with her whole body heaving with the effort to get out her words, "Why… do…doesn't… he… wan… want us th… then." I was certain that short of Mina or our child's death, nothing past, present or future will ever hurt more than this second right now. No agony would trump it, no sadness drown it. "Bec…cause, you… you're a di…ck, and you're… killing her." Her face turned into Finn's shoulder, and her words finally ceased.

"Get your ass up there, and comfort her. I don't care if your stupid honour and idiotic ideals refuse to let either of you be happy right now, but you will offer her every comfort you possibly can," Kol vowed with shaking hands, "Or I will show you things worse than death." The sincere promise in his voice sent a shiver of something far too tangled up in the webs and weaves of the overwhelming amount of emotions suffocating me, and there was a thought. I couldn't breathe.

"I told you she needs you," Serena said emotionlessly probably lest she end up like my poor sister whom was incapable of even standing, "Soon we won't be enough? Well today's the day. I warned you." I could hear my heartbeat thundering obnoxiously loudly in my ears and a stray thought told me that if I were a human still I would have fainted.

"What the hell is going on here?" Marcel's voice echoed throughout the room. I had no idea how long he hand been here, or what he had heard. I did not care. I do not clearly recall going up to Mina's room, but I must have because one moment I was standing in the kitchen and the next I was standing by her bedside. Caroline and Davina shared a look and left me with her. She was asleep, but not peaceful. Muscles clenched tightly, pale and hot to the touch although she was shivering. It was heart shattering to know that my sister was not exaggerating as she was often prone to do. My knees collided forcefully with the carpet. My hand blurring out to reach hers and clench it as tightly as her fragility would allow. She turned to me, and I thought for a moment that she surely must be awake, but she was not. Even in sleep she turned to me. Tears leaked from my eyes uncontrollably, and I opened my mouth to apologise but no words came out. How could I apologise for this?

Kol's darkly resonating words echoed in my mind. Comfort. I levered myself off the floor and pulled my hand away. The whimper she let out… a shotgun to the face would have left less damage. Pulling off my shoes and jacket, I place myself under the covers and hold her tightly. One hand coming to rest over our baby, just next to her own. In that moment, regardless of who might hear… I buried my face in her sweet smelling hair and cried silently until the sheer force of the day rendered me unconscious. And to think I dared claim to love her.


.

..

...

If your crying reading it, then you can imagine how much it sucks having to re-read and edit. Review and tell me what you think, please?