Whoops my bad, here you go.

Chapter 12

She's never been much of a champagne fan; so after the toast, Leah places hers back onto the waiter's tray. Caroline has been led away by Klaus to go look at something –Fay mumbles that that is code for 'make out', but Fay hasn't known Caroline for very long yet. A lot of tension crackles between Caroline and Klaus –and not all of it is sexual.

"You could have given me yours, I would've drank it," Fay says, sipping at her own glass.

"That would have made four glasses, and I think that's a bit much for one night."

"So?" Fay stares at her. "Nobody cares."

"I care!"

"It's not a big deal, Leah."

"You're still not twenty-one, Fay."

"You're not my mother."

"No, but I'm your big sister –"

"Yeah, and you made stupid decisions too, so how do you get to –"

"I don't want you to make the mistakes I did," Leah hisses.

Fay has no response.

She had been a stupid and unloved teenager, and she had acted rashly and without thought, and look where it had gotten her.

"If you're going to make mistakes, at least be original about it. All right?" Her voice cracks on the last word.

Fay nods subtly. A corner of her mouth twitches.

The tension dissipates in their chuckles, and Fay sniffs before setting her glass on a waiter's tray. "I'll keep that in mind," she says, still smiling.

"Someone's in a good mood."

Leah's smile grows as Elijah joins them, but she gets a good look at him and frowns slightly. Something seems off.

Fay holds up her hand. "Guilty as charged. A little too much champagne on my part. I'm gonna…" she points to the finger food.

"Good idea," Leah says, and Fay waves before investigating the food choices.

"Was that your mother who gave the toast?" Leah asks.

Elijah nods wordlessly.

"You all have her chin, I think."

He doesn't respond, and Leah gauges the look on his face. "Is something wrong?"

His attention snaps out of foggy half-attention and focuses back on her. "Hmm?"

"You've got…" She reaches up and lightly touches his jaw with her gloved finger. "Tension in your jaw. Are you okay?"

He raps his cool hand around hers and runs his thumb over her fingers. "Nothing I can't worry about later." He smiles, and it still has a forced air, but she doesn't pry –it's not her place.

She nods slowly, and he's still holding her hand. For a foolhardy moment, she wishes she weren't wearing gloves –she wishes that he'd pull them off and –

They both start at a thump outside the doors. Like an unspoken signal, all the Mikaelson siblings make for the door, unhurried but purposeful. Leah hurries after Elijah, unsure what's going on. She only knows he laced his fingers through hers, consciously or unconsciously, and she has no desire to pull away.

They all spill out through the open front doors, and Leah stills at the sight of Kol's prone form on the bricks.

"Far be it from me to cause a problem," Damon Salvatore spits, glaring at Elena Gilbert. He turns and walks away, and Leah looks back and forth between Elena and Stefan and Damon's retreating form.

"I am so sorry," Elena begins, but Elijah cuts her off.

"This is not your fault, Elena," he says. "Finn, could you take Kol around the house to the library doors? We don't need the guests to see."

Finn picks up their younger brother wordlessly and hoists him over his shoulder, beginning the trek around to the library's veranda doors.

"I think it might be, though –I said some things to Damon I didn't mean, and –"

"Damon is responsible for what Damon does," Elijah assures her. "And I don't think Kol is completely blameless, either."

Elena nods awkwardly and takes Stefan's arm, letting him lead her to their car.

The siblings disperse, and Elijah sighs. "I'm sorry about that," he murmurs in her ear.

Leah repeats his words back to him. "None of that was your fault."

"No, but it's my family, and oftentimes, our violate nature gets the best of us."

Leah squeezes his hand that she still holds. "It's all right," she whispers.

"I'm afraid I will have to go explain things to my mother," he says, leading her back inside. "Will you be all right without me for a few minutes?"

For a moment, Leah contemplates what would happen if she replied with some banter like, 'what would you do if I said no?' But that isn't who she is. She only nods and smiles, telling the truth.

He squeezes her hand before he lets it go.


She has obviously heard from someone, because Esther Mikaelson looks extremely peeved.

"Mother –"

"Not here," she says, her voice low and angry. She walks back through the hallway towards the study, and as Elijah follows her, he is strongly reminded of a teakettle on the verge of boiling. The back of her head vibrates as she comes through the door, and she snaps, "No violence, that was all I asked! Rebekah and Kol disgraced our family tonight."

Elijah holds up a hand, making a mental note to quiz Rebekah on her involvement in this debacle. "It won't happen again, Mother. I'll deal with them," he promises.

Esther sighs, her eyes traveling over his face.

The word repeats in his head again, a mantra that will not be silenced. Lie.

She walks forward and places her hand on his cheek, not unlike Leah's hand that rested there not too long ago. He stiffens.

"Thank you, Elijah," she whispers, staring into his eyes. "I wish the others were more like you."

He knows what she means –controlled, moral, less explosive –but he doesn't like it. He is not in an exclusive club. He's just like his siblings. He just chooses to restrain himself more. His eye twitches as he wonders what is up her metaphorical sleeves.

He doesn't want to know. He desperately doesn't want to know. But he's got to find out, one way or the other.

He gently removes his mother's hand from his skin. She tries to place her hand over his, but he slips out of her grasp and turns away. He and Finn meet in the doorway, and Elijah's determination grows.

They are up to something, and he will find out what it is. He's got to, because for all Esther's professions about wanting their family to be as one, he is the only one who cares enough to hold his family together.

On his way out of the ballroom, Elijah snags Rebekah and pulls her aside. "Mother says you had something to do with Kol's unfortunate incident. Is that true?"

His sister looks down and away. "I told him to forget it," she mumbles. "Kol was just being stupid, as usual."

"But you said something to him before that?" Elijah prompts gently.

She swallows, looking sullen.

"Rebekah."

"I told Kol that I was going to lure Matt outside and that I wanted his help," she whispers. "And then I changed my mind, and Kol decided to be stupid."

The unspoken reason for which she wished to lure her date outside hangs in the air.

"And why were you going to do this?"

"To get back at Elena." Rebekah grinds out the words.

Elijah sighs. "Rebekah, you need to forget this grudge."

"She stuck a dagger in my heart!" his sister insists.

"We have all been daggered by someone much closer than Elena Gilbert," he reminds her. "And if we can forgive Klaus, why can't you forgive Elena?"

"Who says I have," she mumbles.

A small part of Elijah wonders if Rebekah will ever get over her idea that killing people will solve her problems. "Well, what stopped you, if you want revenge on Elena so badly?"

Rebekah tucks her chin into her chest, far from his loud, confident sister. "He gave me his jacket," she says in a small voice.

Elijah tips her chin up so he can see her eyes. "Matt was kind," he says.

She nods.

"And if you had gone ahead with your plans, that bit of kindness in the world would have disappeared," he continues. "I'm glad you changed your mind, Bekah. Sometime tonight, apologize to Mother, would you?"

She nods, if reluctantly.

Elijah kisses her forehead and heads toward the library, where, with any luck, Kol will have woken up by now.

He finds Kol lying on a couch in the library, but Leah and Fay are there, too.

"I thought someone should sit with him, until he wakes up," Leah says quietly from her perch on an overstuffed footstool.

Fay sits in an armchair, bored with all the proceedings. She raises an eyebrow. "I'm eating grapes." She holds up the bunch of red grapes and pops one into her mouth.

"Thank you," Elijah tells Leah, touched. He inspects Kol, who is, for all intents and purposes, dead to the world. "I was going to have a few words with him, but it looks like it might be a while."

"I can stay with him," Fay offers. "You two can go schmooze some more. When he wakes up, I'll tell him you want to see him."

Elijah frowns. "I'm not sure if –"

"I've done it before," Fay assures him. "You just stay away from the teeth and you're fine. Go on." She waves Leah in his direction.

He would protest more –Kol is not exactly cheery when woken from an injury –but she has done it before and the only vampire she would have experience with is Leah.

There are still many things he does not know about Leah, and the bits and pieces he does learn through throwaway comments like this scare him. She should never have had to go through anything like this.

Elijah makes a decision. Kol is not completely brainless. He ought to know that if he tries anything with Fay, retribution will come raining down on him swiftly and harshly. And Fay has, as she said, experience with this sort of thing. "Thank you, Fay," he says, hoping the gratitude comes through in his words. His worries are piling up tonight.

"No problem." She pops another grape in her mouth.

Leah takes his offered arm, casting a worried glance after her sister, but she doesn't protest.

Elijah waits until they are out amid loud talkers before murmuring, "She has experience?"

Her gentle sigh confirms his suspicions. "I hoped you hadn't caught that," she whispers.

"Why?"

She bites her lip. "It's hard… to talk about." She looks around the room, sorrow in her eyes. "Not something I wanted to think about tonight."

He places his hand over the one nestled in the crook of his arm. "Then we won't."

She looks up at him, surprised.

"But if you need to talk about it… I'm here," he promises.

She smiles, shaking her head a bit. "You've already done so much for me."

"But I want to," he whispers.

Her bottle-green eyes are so inviting, and she is so close, and her lips look so soft… Elijah nearly loses himself for a moment.

The music from the ballroom changes, and he knows that another dance is about to begin. "Would you like to try dancing again?" he asks.

She nods, smiling shyly. "I'd like that very much."


"This is about my speed," Leah admits, as Elijah leisurely leads her around the dance floor as the band plays a slow, slightly jazzy tune.

He smirks. "Duly noted."

"What do you need to note it for?" she murmurs curiously.

"Future reference."

Is this flirting? She hasn't flirted with anyone in twelve years. It was never something she was much good at. Fay was the one who excelled at witty comebacks, even as a child. She'll content herself with her silences and the sound of the band, the smell of his cologne and the solid muscle of his shoulder.

She has noticed the trickle of people slowly leaving the room, first in ones and twos, and now in larger clumps. The ball is winding down, and she resists looking at the clock. She is going to hang onto this feeling for all its worth.

As she stares over Elijah's shoulder, Leah spots Fay emerge from the hallway with her shoes over her shoulder. Trailing behind her comes Kol, watching Fay with a fascinated air.

"Kol's awake," she informs Elijah.

He raises an eyebrow and smoothly turns them so he can see what she sees. "So he is. And it looks like he has behaved himself."

She had been a little worried for Fay, but from the satisfied expression on her face, it seems like all has gone well.

The song winds down, and inwardly, Leah knows the clock has struck. Her legs hurt, and Fay has to leave in the morning. She sighs with regret.

"Hey Cinderella," Fay says, as Elijah and Leah exit the ballroom, "we promised Bonnie you'd be outta here by midnight."

"Oh, is it that late?"

"Mmhm. We've got just enough time to make a dignified exit before everything turns to mice and pumpkins," Fay jokes.

Leah makes a mental note to drive home. Fay's got a spacey, sleepy look in her eye. "I suppose we'd better go," she says, turning to Elijah. "I had a wonderful time. Thank you so much for the invitation." She smiles at him, eyes shining, hoping they will say what her lips cannot.

"I'm glad you came."


They collect their coats and walk out into the moonlight, silently making their way to the car. Once inside and on their way home, Fay laughs a little. "Well, I had fun."

"Good," Leah says. "I'm glad."

"I leave tomorrow, you know."

"I know." She will miss Fay –but she is comforted that she has had this chance to grow closer to the sister she thought lost to her forever.

"I'll write," Fay promises. "Or I'll call, if you ever get a phone line. And I'll be back for Thanksgiving."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Leah says, turning onto the main road.

Fay scoffs. "A horrible three days with Dad and Monica, or you? There's no contest, Leah."

"What are you going to tell him?"

"I'm going home with a friend."

"Are you sure your truck can make this drive again?" She has seen Fay drive that thing –it's on its last axle. She has a sneaking suspicion that Fay keeps it running with both feet.

"If it can't, I'll grab a bus. Or hitch. Somehow."

Leah glances at Fay out of the corner of her eye. Her sister is looking particularly mulish. "You can't talk me out of it, Leah."

"Be safe," Leah whispers pleadingly.

"Always."

She doesn't want to ask, but… it's a reality she's got to face. "What is Frank going to do when Ky and Grace don't make a Thanksgiving appearance? Didn't Dad question where they were while he was in the hospital?"

"That is so not your problem at all, Leah."

"He claimed I was dead, Fay. He can't say I suddenly came back to life and took our children."

"Sucks for Frank." There is no pity in Fay's voice as she holds her hands over the heater. "And he's not your husband anymore, Leah."

She doesn't say anything, just keeps her eyes trained on the road ahead.

"You know what?" Fay says. "You need closure."

Boy, does she. "Thanks, Captain Obvious," Leah murmurs dryly.

"Divorce his ass, Leah."

"What?" She nearly jerks the wheel, she looks at Fay so sharply.

"I mean, you can't go to court because you're legally dead, but…" Fay shrugs. "I can take papers or something back, just saying that you're divorced and he'd better stay away from you."

Isn't it just easier to let sleeping dogs lie?

But if he ever comes after Ky and Grace… if he decides he can't in good conscience let them remain with their mother the monster… She licks her dry lips silently.

"I mean, you don't have to do it this second. You could even wait 'til after I come back at Thanksgiving. Just think about it. 'Cause you need something."

As badly as she wants to deny it, Fay's right. "I'll think about it," Leah promises, turning onto her street.

"Good enough," Fay sighs.

They pull into the driveway, making sure Bonnie's car can still leave, and walk up to the porch. Fay yawns widely.

"Hi, Bonnie," Leah says softly, stepping into her living room. Bonnie smiles from the sofa where she is curled up with a book. "Any trouble?"

"They were great," Bonnie assures her, standing. "Though, when I put Grace to bed, she felt kind of warm to me… you might want to check her temperature."

"Thanks for telling me." Leah gives her a generous bonus –it's a little past midnight –and Bonnie says goodnight.

"I'm gonna…" Fay points towards the bedroom she has been sharing with Leah.

"Go on." Leah waves her on. She's got to get up in the morning and drive. Fay disappears down the hallway. Deciding to make a cup of tea before she goes to bed, Leah puts the kettle on and sits at the kitchen table while she waits for it to boil. She slowly pulls off the long evening gloves and unclasps the necklace from around her neck. The hairdo proves more difficult –Fay was right, it stayed up all night –but she gradually finds all the bobby pins and rubber bands, and her dark gold hair tumbles down, a mass of curls and thin braids.

That's going to be a pain to comb out in the morning.

But it was worth it, Leah thinks, remembering the looks Elijah had given her over the course of the night. She chuckles a little to herself, burying her head in her hands.

Fay was right. She finds Elijah very handsome indeed.


AN: just a note -I don't think divorce is a good thing. I think marriage is work and falling out of "love" isn't a good enough reason to get a divorce. You won't always feel a feeling, love has to be deeper than that. But when it's a case like Leah's, where someone is in danger in whatever way, it's a different matter altogether.

I didn't want someone to assume something I didn't mean :) Because Fay isn't someone who's going to articulate all of that, haha :) Please review and tell me what you think!