I hope you're all ready for this chapter! I know I am! :)
Chapter 12
Elena awoke nestled in Elijah's side, his face buried in her hair. A look of worry crossed her face as her stomach felt weird. Elijah felt her tense and immediately woke up.
"What's wrong?" He asked sleepily, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He took in her emotional state and concern clouded his face.
"I think I'm just hungry," she admitted, looking at him reassuringly.
Elijah looked at the bedside clock, "Well it is four in the afternoon and you haven't fed since last night. I'll go make breakfast."
With that he pulled on a pair of sleep pants and whooshed downstairs.
Elena sat in bed a while longer before grabbing one of Elijah's shirts and following her husband. The smell of eggs and bacon greeted her as she walked in the kitchen. She sat down at the informal dining room table and Elijah placed a heaping plate of food in front of her and a large glass a blood. She dug in hungrily before Elijah had even sat down.
"I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm so hungry," Elena apologized before downing her drink as well.
Elijah looked at her amused, "I have always admired a woman that could eat. Especially in front of a man."
She smiled sheepishly while he continued to elegantly finish his breakfast. Her stomach growled slightly, eliciting a strange look from her husband.
"Elena, are you still hungry?" He asked, wide eyed.
"It's probably just an effect of all of the nerves I had yesterday. It should go away soon."
Elijah nodded slightly, accepting her words.
She got up and put her dishes in the sink, "I'm going to take a shower, okay? Then maybe we can do something today. I'm sure everyone is tired of being cooped up in the hotel," she said as she headed towards the stairs.
She went up the stairs as normal as she could and then whooshed to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her as her stomach began to churn violently. She fell in front of the toilet, emptying her stomach into the porcelain bowl. She heard a knock on the door and groaned, "Elijah, go away. You don't need to see this."
Ignoring his wife's words, Elijah opened the door and went to her. He held her hair back as her head hung over the bowl, "Perhaps you ate too much?"
Elena scowled at him and relented with a quiet, "Maybe." She got up and rinsed out her mouth as Elijah turned on the shower. Elena put her hands above her head and stretched on her tiptoes, hearing her bones snap and pop. Elijah watched in wonder as she undressed her minimal clothing. He scanned her body, his eyes resting on her stomach.
"What?" She asked nervously, her hands fluttering to her stomach, "I just have a food baby. I'm not fat."
Elijah smiled slightly, "I didn't say that you were, my love. I was just admiring."
Elena placed a chaste kiss on his lips before getting into the shower.
He walked to his study, letting his mind wander as he went. He hadn't wanted Elena to miss out on any of the things that a human life could have offered her. He had wanted her to get married, have a family, and grow old with a man she loved. He could only offer her one of those things. In his thousand years of existence, he had never given another thought to not having a child of his own once he had been turned. Elena woke these feelings in him. He wanted her belly to be swollen with his child. He wanted her to experience being a mother.
Cool hands were placed on his neck from behind, pulling himself from his thoughts.
"Miss me?" Elena murmured against the back of his neck.
Elijah shivered slightly, turning around and placing a soft kiss on her lips, "Very much. Was your shower enjoyable?"
"Yes, it was fine," Elena lied easily. She was surprised that he hadn't heard her second bout of sickness.
He took her into his arms feeling her relax instantly as he smoothed her hair. He would protect her from everything. He would make sure that she was never hurt again, regardless of the situation.
An incessant ringing coming from Elijah's suit pocket interrupted their calm. He reached for it and answered quickly.
"Yes, Niklaus?"
Caroline would like me to ask if Elena is permitted to go shopping in the Quarter with herself and Bonnie today.
Elena nodded gratefully at Elijah, "Elena would be delighted."
Perfect. I'll send them over right away. Oh, and, brother, Kol and I had a most peculiar visit last night. It seems as if Finn has decided to join our little family again. He requested to have dinner with the family tonight at the Compound.
Elijah stiffened at the mention of his elder brother's name, "That should be fine, Niklaus. I'll make the arrangements for seven."
Perfect. See you then, brother.
Elijah returned his phone to its rightful place as he looked at Elena, "Are you okay with this?"
"It's fine," she nodded, "He's family now. He should be treated as such. However, if his intentions are anything but honorable, I'm sure you or Klaus have a dagger lying around here somewhere."
Elijah couldn't help but admire his wife's compassion. She was a force to be reckoned with, he must remember that in the future.
"Elena, what's got you so preoccupied?" Caroline asked as they sat in a restaurant enjoying some drinks and appetizers.
"Are you feeling okay?" Bonnie asked, looked concerned at her friend.
"What? Yeah! I'm fine, guys," Elena denied.
"Well, okay, but we're not done shopping!" Caroline squealed as she triumphantly held up Klaus's credit card.
"Let's go!" Bonnie said enthusiastically.
They both dragged Elena to store after store, occasionally allowing the two vampires to stop for a snack. Caroline had convinced Elena to try on a few dresses for formal occasions, she reasoned. She was wearing a skintight black dress that seemed to hug her stomach uncomfortably.
Hmm, Elena mused, looking at herself from all angles, stupid food baby.
She didn't end up buying anything, much to Caroline's dismay, "This will probably be the only time I'll get his card, Elena! We're supposed to take advantage of it!"
"Just have you and Bonnie spend it," Elena said, "I've got my own original at home with more money than I can probably spend in my lifetime." She suddenly felt dizzy, seeing the store swirl around her. She hurried to the seat in front of the dressing room and practically collapsed on to it.
"Elena?" Caroline rushed to her, concerned as Bonnie followed, "What's wrong?"
"Care, can you call Elijah please? I'm not feeling that great and I think I should go back home for a little while."
Caroline nodded, dialing Elijah's number and speaking to him urgently.
"He's on his way. Do you want me and Bonnie to go with you?
Elena brushed them off quickly, "No, no. It's fine. I think I just need some sleep. You guys go ahead and keep shopping. We'll catch up tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay, 'Lena," Bonnie nodded, hugging her friend as Elijah walked in looking frazzled. He went straight for Elena, kneeling in front of her.
"Elena, are you alright?" Worry clouded his face.
"I think I'm just tired. Take me home?"
Elijah heard Elena start to stir from their bedroom. He could hear her heartbeat quicken as she used her vampire speed to rush to the bathroom. Before he made it to their room, she was once again vomiting the contents of her stomach.
He held her hair back and helped her back into bed, "Would you like to cancel tonight's dinner?"
"No, Elijah. Finn came all this way to spend time with you and Klaus and Kol. It'll be fine. I'm sure you'll hear me if I need you."
At that moment the front door of the Compound opened and Klaus's voice rang through the building, "Finn should be here shortly, Elijah."
"Go. I'll be fine," Elena said, placing her hand on his cheek and giving him a soft kiss.
Elijah hurried downstairs and sat in the living room across from Klaus as Kol searched aimlessly through the book shelves that adorned the walls, "Niklaus, I trust you've brought a dagger just incase our brother poses a threat?"
"Of course. Everything is taken care of, brother," Klaus answered as he cocked his head towards the door, "Speak of the devil."
"I thought I was already speaking to him?" Elijah said, a smirk playing at his lips as a knock sounded on the door. He got up to answer it, meeting the eyes of his older brother, "Finn, how nice of you to join us."
Finn nodded and looked around, taking in the small feminine touches that Elena had littered about the Compound. "Where is the sweet Elena?" Finn asked.
"She's upstairs resting right now. If she feels up to it, she may join us for dinner or drinks later," Elijah answered curtly, clearly upset at Finn's interest in his now wife.
"She has transitioned, has she not?"
"Yes, Finn, you were there when it happened. Don't you remember?" Klaus asked haughtily.
Finn waved his hand in the air as a dismissal, "Mother saw it fit to wipe my memories of that night. I have no recollection after leaving Mother alone with Elena."
"Hmm…" Kol murmured softly, "The terror of our mother seems to know no bounds, especially with her favorite son."
Finn heard a sound from upstairs, other than Elena's heartbeat, "Who is Elena with?"
Elijah looked upset with worry, "She's by herself. She's sleeping."
Finn looked confused, but let it go. He knew he had heard something.
Klaus sensed the tension between his two older brothers and spoke up, "Drinks in the parlor, then? I'm sure dinner will be served soon."
Elijah led them into the parlor and poured them all a generous glass of bourbon. They made idle chitchat until a maid informed them of dinner.
They all sat around the table in the formal dining room. Elijah heard Elena flurry about upstairs, dressing and whatnot. She made her way into the dining room, smiling at Klaus and Elijah and giving Kol a slight squeeze on his shoulder to remind him to behave.
She stopped in front of Finn, "Hello, Finn. It's so nice that you could come," Elena smiled warmly at him as a ripple of jealousy went through Elijah.
"It's very nice to see you, lovely Elena," Finn said, hearing the same strange noise he had heard earlier. His hand stretched out and rested on her stomach, much to her surprise at his forwardness, "Elena, have you been sick lately?"
Elijah was by her side in an instant, placing his hand on Finn's outstretched one, "What are you getting at, Finn?" Elijah darkly asked as Klaus and Kol took in the scene while finishing their drinks.
"I've only been sick a couple times, it just started today," Elena acknowledged.
"Hmm…" Finn murmured, ignoring Elijah's hand and moving his hand in circular motions around her stomach, "Elena, for the sake of knowledge, were you sexually active before your transition?"
Elijah's jar ticked at his brother's question as Elena's eyes went wide with embarrassment. He quickly answered for Elena as calmly as he could, "No. She has never been with anyone except me. And that only started last night."
Finn nodded and removed his hand as Kol interjected, "What's with all the questions, mate?"
"I'm not for sure, but from what I've studied about mates, before I was daggered," Finn shot a pointed look at Klaus, "There are certain perks of the mating process. I had tried to see if Sage was my mate because we were so drawn to each other as humans. The mating bond appealed to me as it did to Sage as well. As the bond grows, the two people begin experiencing pulls to each other. A certain reliance on the other, if you will. The strength is one of the perks of the bond. It will eventually grow into mind sharing and more of an emotional awareness. But that wasn't what attracted Sage to the idea to begin with."
Elena slowly absorbed the information as Elijah and Klaus nodded their understanding. Kol seemed to be thinking of other things, perhaps a mate of his own.
"What exactly was the attraction to the mating bond, Finn?" Elena asked softly.
Finn sighed, slightly annoyed with their ignorance on the subject. If anyone should know about the bond, it should be the two people alive to experience it, "Sage and I always wanted a family. When I was turned into the monster that I am, Sage was expecting our first child. She was always the motherly type as a human. Once I turned her to be like me, the baby was lost. We had no other way of having another biological child. Ayanna heard of our dilemma and sought to fix it, however, no matter what she did, she could not render Sage fertile. That's when we heard of the mating bond. It was almost two hundred years after the miscarriage of our child. It so happens that a mated vampire couple can reproduce, but only once every one hundred years."
Elena gasped, her hand flying to her stomach in shock while Elijah was rigid at her side.
"I believe you're pregnant, Elena," Finn stated.
A bit of a cliffy, oops! Please be sure to review! The more reviews I get, the faster the next chapter is published!
-Grace
