Bloodlines

Chapter 12: Sinners and Saints

Beta: PrincessOfSilence

Disclaimer: I own nothing of TVD and TO. I only own my characters and my story.

It was the calm pulsing of Davina's carotid artery that made Elijah swallow thickly. His body was aching for fresh blood and his skin was still somewhat grey from being daggered. But still, he held his ground even though he wanted nothing more than to feed from her.

"You're the one they call honorable," Davina spoke as she clenched and unclenched her fists nervously in the presence of the Original. She wouldn't show it on her face, but she knew that Elijah could silence her in seconds if he chose to.

Elijah smiled widely. "Yes, that's what they call me. And yet, I followed my brother here to New Orleans to engage in a war. So, I ask you, does that sound honorable to you?"

"You don't look well." She frowned as she looked upon his ashy skin.

"Well, only this morning I had a mystical dagger embedded in my chest, so I'd say I'm holding myself together quite well." Elijah adjusted the sleeves of his suit. "Davina, I believe that you and I have the power to end a war between witches and vampires before it truly begins. I, by keeping my brother in line; you, by behaving like your true self—not some tool for Marcel or the witches."

Davina's eyebrows wrinkled, a look of distaste marring her features. "And why should I trust you?"

"Well, for one thing, in spite of a ravenous hunger, I have not tried to take your blood." The Original pointed out. He was starving, so much so that his throat was aching, but he would not take blood from the young witch.

"Why not?" Davina asked him. "I'm the only one here."

"Even in my present condition, I would not feed from a child." He told her. She barely looked like she had reached sixteen and in Elijah's eyes she was considered a child. The witch gripped a thin pin from her table and pricked her index finger with it. Blood collected on the tip of the needle and she approached Elijah with caution. Once she was close enough to him, she placed the droplet of blood on his bottom lip and watched as his complexion returned to normal. He wanted more, he wouldn't deny it, but for now it was enough to satisfy him until he was free from the attic. The two were standing in silence when his phone rang from the desk. The witch took a few steps back and picked it up, weighing it in her hands and she saw that it was the same woman that had left a message earlier.

"May I have my phone please?" He outstretched his hand for the ringing phone, but Davina pulled back.

"No. You're going to call Klaus for help."

"I will do no such thing. Do keep in mind that my brother was the one who put me in this situation. He would be the last one I would want to call." He spoke and the phone stopped ringing. "If you feel so paranoid, then you can make the call for me and hand it to me when she picks up."

"She?" Davina raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment. "You're talking about Cassandra?"

Elijah nodded. "Yes, I heard the voicemail she left. It was quite rude of Marcel to poke through my business. I thought that we taught him better than that."

"Who is she?" The young witch asked.

"She lives in Virginia, so she is too far away to come here if you're afraid of that. She is a very good friend of mine and she is expecting a child with her husband. I will only be a moment, Davina." He was careful to pick and choose and his words since he did not want to alarm Davina. Cassandra was a hybrid and Damon was a vampire, but Davina didn't need to know all of the details. He held out his hand for his phone and the young witch eyed it warily, still unsure of taking Elijah for his word.

"Please, I am like a father to her since both of her parents were killed." That made Davina's heart drop and she looked down at the phone in her hands. She knew what it was like to be all alone and then to be taken under someone's wing. If what she heard about Elijah was true, she gathered that he would be a great protector of those who needed help. After a few long moments, she finally dialed Cassandra's number and handed the phone to the Original who had sighed in relief to himself. He thought that he had lost his touch, but he was thankful that even after being daggered and handed over to his brother's arch nemesis, he still had it.

"Well, it's about damn time." Cassandra chided playfully after two rings. "I've been waiting for you to call me back. Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine. Just got a little sidetracked that's all." Elijah's gaze strayed to Davina who was watching him carefully. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better. Thank God. The last time you spoke to me I had my head in a bucket." She chuckled wholeheartedly. "But I am eating Damon out of house and home."

"I'm sure as long as you're happy and feeling better that Damon will get used to it." He smiled, hearing the happiness in her voice and Davina could now see how much of a father figure he really was for this girl. Elijah's happy look faltered as his mind trailed back to the message that Cassandra had left and he cleared his throat. "I received your message..."

"And I told you that there is nothing to worry about." She could already feel him getting anxious. "Damon and I found out that...it's a girl."

Elijah felt his voice leave him and all he could do was ask himself if he heard her correctly. He was staring blankly into space for a brief moment before smiling again. He knew how much she and Damon wanted a child and he remembered hearing about her breakdown from Klaus when she had found out about Hayley's unexpected pregnancy. She was finally getting what she wanted and he couldn't be happier for the expecting couple. She had come so far and struggled so hard, but all of the wishing and tears had finally paid off. He couldn't stop himself from smiling and Davina was smiling too as she watched the tender moment.

"Did I lose you?" Cassandra giggled on the other line, not knowing Elijah for being speechless.

"No, I am just elated for you and Damon," he said when he came back to himself. "She will be beautiful like her mother."

"You're going to make me cry." She whimpered. "And these hormones don't help."

"You can say that again."Elijah heard Damon's voice in the distance and then a swift smack which was then followed by the vampire groaning lowly. "Ow."

"Sorry about that Elijah." Cassandra got back on the phone. "But, I'm just happy to hear from you and I hope that you're taking care of yourself in New Orleans."

Elijah nodded slowly, looking upon Davina who had been waiting so patiently. "There is no need to worry because I am in good hands." The witch smiled proudly and Elijah matched it. "I'm sorry that I have to cut this conversation short, but I have some business that needs attending to."

"You men and your business." She remarked smartly. "Don't be a stranger and please be careful."

"I will. And congratulations to you and Damon." He bid her goodbye and handed the phone back to Davina once he hung up. She took it in her hands and placed it back on the table. "Thank you, Davina."

"You're welcome." She whispered quietly.

"We had a deal! You protect my unborn child, I dismantle Marcel's army. And whilst I've been busy fulfilling my part of the bargain, you allowed Hayley to be attacked and almost killed by a gaggle of lunatic witches." Klaus's roar shook the entire mansion as he held onto Sophie.

"I had nothing to do with it, I swear. Hayley and I are linked, remember? She dies, I die." Sophie wriggled in his hold.

"And what about me?" Giuliana asked with her arms crossed over her chest. "I'm still digging the splinters from that arrow that shot me in the back."

"I swear! I had nothing to do with them." She defended.

"Still not convinced." The green eyed girl growled. "If you had nothing to do with them, then who were they?"

"Exactly what I want to know." Rebekah chimed in.

"They are a faction of extremists. Sabine stupidly told them about some vision she had about the baby." The witch explained and Klaus let her go.

"What kind of vision?" He asked, intrigued what the witch had seen.

"She has them all the time. They are totally open to interpretation. I'm guessing she's wrong on this one." Sophie said.

"Well, how, may I ask, was this particular vision interpreted?" Klaus questioned.

"Pretty much that your baby would bring death to all witches." The witch told him.

Klaus smirked evilly. "Ah, well. I grow fonder of this child by the second."

"Let's cut to the chase, Soph. I promised Elijah that I would protect Hayley while he works with Davina to win her loyalty. How about you tell us how extreme this faction is?" Giuliana stood toe to toe with the witch.

"I...wasn't always an advocate for the witches." She began and sat on the couch. She spoke about how a ritual called a Harvest and that Jane-Anne told her that their coven planned to follow it through.

"What the bloody hell is a Harvest?" Rebekah wondered.

"It's a ritual our coven does every three centuries, so that the bond to our ancestral magic is restored. We appease our ancestors, they keep our ancestral power flowing." Sophie explained.

"And why haven't I heard of this?" Klaus posed.

"Because a Harvest always seemed like a myth. A story, passed on through generations like Noah's ark, or the Buddha walking on water. The kind some people take literally, and some people don't." She replied. "They had the girls of our community preparing for months. Four would be chosen for the Harvest. They said that it was an honor, that they were special. I thought it was a myth."

"Was it?" Rebekah asked. Klaus's phone rang in his pocket and he smirked seeing Marcel's name flashing on the caller ID. He snuck off to answer it, leaving the girls alone.

"So, you were against the Harvest happening?" Giuliana wondered.

"I didn't believe in it. Like I said, myth."

"Well, I asked Marcel-"

"What do you mean you asked Marcel?" Rebekah jumped down the smaller girl's throat.

Giuliana rolled her eyes at the Original. "Last night I went to the bar and he was there. I was asking about Davina."

"Why would you straight out ask him?! Now he'll suspect something." The blonde gritted.

"He corned me about my Hunter's mark, so I told him the truth. We exchanged stories; I told him one of mine and he told me one of his." Giuliana explained calmly. "Honestly, you guys should be thanking me for being able to play both sides so well." Rebekah was about to reply, but Klaus came back into the room after he had finished his phone call.

"I'm going to investigate the bodies of the dead witches in the woods with Marcel." He announced and Sophie's face paled.

Sophie shook her head vigorously. "You can't go out there now. I need to gather the witches' remains and consecrate them. If I don't get to them before sundown, we'll lose the link to their magic."

"Those witches tried to kill Hayley and Giuliana. I'd prefer for Marcel's informant not to find anything that would lead him back to us, to her, or to...you know," he pointed at the pregnant girl's stomach and she rolled her eyes. "That."

"You are all class." She droned.

"Disgusting, isn't he?" Giuliana lipped.

Klaus then pointed at Sophie. "Stay put. And save the rest of your story 'til I return." He left and the remaining girls all exchanged silent glances with one another. Who was Klaus to boss them around anyways?

"Hey—"

Giuliana jumped out of her skin, her heart raced wildly. Nearly spilling her drink, she managed to calm herself down seeing that it was only Marcel that had joined her. "Jesus Christ! You scared the hell out of me."

"Sorry about that. I didn't expect you to be so jumpy." The vampire sat next to her and she shifted uncomfortably. The wound on her shoulder was still bothering her even though Klaus had managed to slip her some of his blood. "You okay? I called you last night."

"I know you did." She said.

"Well, I was hoping that we could talk." He suggested in a friendly tone.

"About?" She lifted the glass up to her lips, taking quite a liberal sip. Marcel placed a set of photos on the surface of the bar and her eyes grew wide once she saw the content of the pictures.

"It's called a Hunter's mark. A magical tattoo that grows whenever a vampire is kill is made." He explained and Giuliana's green eyes flitted over every detail of the marks. They had marred her skin for as long as she could remember, but the black lines and shapes almost mocked her as she looked at them. "Is there something you wanna tell me?"

Giuliana swallowed and pushed her drink aside. She knew that Marcel would find out about her mark sooner or later, so she figured that she should come clean about it now. "Okay, my brother was a hunter back in the eleven hundreds. He was a member of the Brotherhood of the Five and all of the men in the brotherhood had the same tattoo. The mark reveals a map to the cure for vampirism." Marcel's eyebrows rose curiously. "Oh, don't worry. This story gets better. My brother was hell-bent on getting this stupid map revealed-"

"Why would he need the cure? He wasn't a vampire." He interrupted.

"Side note, the cure was to be shoved down the throat of a very old vampire by the name of Silas. It was a mission the Five had been sent on by a witch, but can we get back to the relevant part of the story now?" She grumbled and the vampire let he continue. "Like I said, they continued to kill vampires, feeding the mark, but then the Mikaelsons came along. They murdered my brother and the Five in their sleep, tore out his tongue, and chased my family out of their village. The very same mark that my brother had was transferred to me after his death. I saw what it made him into, so I refused to make the mark grow. I went to a witch, pleading with her for help and she cast a spell on me to keep my body dormant in a mausoleum for almost two thousand years. The mark continued to stay on my skin for such time after I was awakened, but it vanished when a new hunter preceded me."

Marcel took all of this new information in slowly, letting it marinate in his brain for a while. He had expected a completely different story from her, but this one seemed airtight. "So, are you a hunter anymore?"

"No, I'm not. For some reason, your little witch cast a spell on me and it was like it was growing all over again." She replied hastily and handed him the pictures back.

"She was trying to show me that I might have been in danger if I was with you." He tried to defend Davina, but he just felt stupid now for interrogating her like a common criminal.

"Trust me, Marcel. If I had wanted you dead," she leaned in close, just inches away from his face. "You'd be dead." Marcel smirked widely and she returned back to her drink. "The mark constantly showing up must be a little side effect of Davina's spell. Lovely."

"Listen, I'm sorry about all of this. She just wants to keep me safe." He assured her.

"That's all fine and great, but tell her to back off from me. I'm human and can't heal quickly like a vampire, so it hurts like a mother." Giuliana mentioned. "What's this superman complex she has?"

Marcel's eyes grew sullen and he put the photographs away. "She protects me because I saved her."

She stared back at him, unsure of what he was getting at. "So, spill. Come on. I told you a story."

Taking a deep breath, Marcel looked down at his hands that were drumming against the surface of the bar. "Davina was meant to be sacrificed by the other witches in her coven. It was a bloodbath. Young girls bleeding out from their throats, really gruesome. Some friends of mine had been out hunting when we smelled the blood and heard the screams. We couldn't believe what we were seeing. This coven had tricked these sixteen year old girls into being sacrificed by saying that they'd be brought back to life again. But they lied." Giuliana had fallen quiet. In all of the time she had known Marcel, which she'd admit was little, this was the first time she'd ever seen him like this. Being the king of the quarter, he always had their air of confidence about him. Some might go as far as to call him arrogant which he was at times, but this was different. He was scarred by the faces of those young girls, glassy eyes staring vacantly up at the night sky and their blood staining the ground.

"She was so scared and I have a thing about people taking advantage of kids." He added. "So, I helped her and hid her away."

The brunette nodded, now seeing a different side of Marcel that she rather liked. "That was very heroic of you."

The vampire shrugged, ordering a drink. "Well, maybe I was feeling so heroic because Klaus saved me from the same life." She looked to him to continue. "I was a slave and Klaus and his siblings were traveling when they saw my master giving me a good whipping. He killed him and took care of me like a son."

"Well, sometimes Klaus does have redeeming qualities about him." Giuliana murmured.

"Hey, he gave me everything and I looked up to him." Marcel replied with a soft smile. "When he skipped town...I was broken. I felt like I had lost everything."

"I'm sorry." She voiced, having felt the same way when Elijah had left. It was silly to dwell on the past, but some scars were deeper than others and even though she and Elijah were never really involved, it didn't make it hurt any less.

"Thanks." He responded with a gentle smile. "And I'm sorry about not asking you first about the tattoo."

Playful green eyes sparkled in the dim light of the bar. "How about we share a drink and let bygones be bygones?"

"I like the sound of that." He ordered two shots of pure alcohol and handed her one. "Cheers."

"Down the hatch." They clicked their glasses together and tossed back their shots, ignoring the subtle burn that coated their throats.

"So, what else did he say?" Rebekah wondered as she, Hayley, Sophie, and Giuliana trudged through the swampy bayou. At least it was during the day where they were free of any attacks or intruders that would drop in.

"He said something about the Harvest." Giuliana stepped over a tree root.

"Ah, and that's what Sophie was getting at before. So, this Harvest thingy—tell me more." She asked the witch who shook her head.

"Klaus said to wait."

"Yes. He also said to stay out of the bayou and yet here we are, amongst the crawly, buzzy creatures." Rebekah swatted away some bugs that buzzed past her and wrinkled her nose

"Not exactly a fan of the outdoors, are you?" The brunette implied as the four women continued on their way. Giuliana had always loved being within nature. It brought her comfort and relaxation. While she did enjoy the finer things in life, she would never forget where she came from and the kind of life she led.

"Not in the slightest." The blonde groaned, her blue eyes squinting at the stains on her new boots. "I grew up in the dirt and mud; I hated it."

"No need to be hostile about it." She remarked.

Rebekah halted walking and whipped around, towing over the other girl. "Ruin a pair of $500 boots in the dirt and then come talk to me."

"If it's any consolation, I lost a pair of shoes out here running from those witches." She offered. "Granted they weren't $500, but losing a pair of shoes is a tragedy."

"We're here." Hayley announced who had been quiet the entire time which was out of the norm for her. She was normally opinionated and would always put her two sense in, but she was as meek as a field mouse. Looking out into the clearing, the girls were in the company of the dead witches. Their bloodied bodies and dismembered heads looked even more gruesome in the daylight. Flies and other bugs were crawling all over the bodies, some making a meal of the disintegrating eye sockets and ripped open necks. The smell of rotting flesh made their stomachs turn and the rancid stench would only get worse as the day lingered on. All of the girls somewhat shielded their eyes from the sight, but Sophie was the most disgusted of all. Even though they were sent to kill Hayley and Giuliana, it was still a great loss for the witch community. Pushing that all aside, she knelt down beside a body, batted away the bugs and dug around in her bag for the ingredients she needed to consecrate the fallen witches.

"Our wolf friend did quite the job." Giuliana leaned up against a tree.

"Are you even really sure that it was a wolf?" Rebekah butt in. She was standing the furthest away from the crime scene.

"It was. I saw him...her...it with my own two eyes. I thought that it was going to go after me, but it attacked the witches instead. Like it or not, that wolf saved my life and Hayley's too." She proclaimed.

"Whoa." Hayley uttered as she stared down at a huge paw print in the mud. It was bigger than just a wild wolf print; it could only fit the track of a werewolf. She then pointed out three bloody claw marks embedded into the bark of a tree.

"Is that a wolf track?" Sophie wondered.

"Told you that it was a wolf." The brunette bragged and Rebekah rolled her eyes.

"That wolf would have done us all a favor by eating you." She added.

"We can bicker later." Sophie interrupted the two. "Some of the body parts are missing and I need them. My guess is that they didn't go too far."

"I am not looking for body parts." Rebekah hissed.

"You have to." Sophie glared.

"Fine. The quicker we do this, the quicker we can get home." Giuliana pushed herself off the tree and began to wander a little further away from the clearing. All of the girls split up and Giuliana was walking amongst the trees when she spotted her shoe from last night on the ground. She nudged it aside with her foot and she suddenly whipped around hearing a crunching noise nearby as if someone was walking towards her.

"Who's there?" Rebekah called out and the girls reconvened together, gathering that they would be stronger in a group than on their own. A male approached them and his frantic gaze looked over the four women.

"What the hell? An Original?" He recognized Rebekah before speeding off back in the direction from where he came from.

"Damn! Was that Marcel's informant?" Giuliana questioned.

"We are so busted." Hayley muttered.

Hours had passed since Rebekah left the bayou and rushed after Marcel's informant. The bayou was coming alive with the sounds of night and the girls were making their way back to Sophie's truck. Marcel's informant hadn't come back and neither had Rebekah which made them antsy, but they figured that no news was good news. Hayley had been strangely quiet the entire day and Giuliana would ask her what was wrong, but the wolf wouldn't give her an answer. The ex-hunter helped Sophie pack the truck and Hayley leaned against it.

"Those people," she started, gaining Sophie's attention. "All this because of a vision about my baby you don't think is true?"

Sophie gave a weary sigh and closed up the trunk. "Look, I love Sabine, but she's the witch equivalent of a drama queen. I've learned to take little stock in whatever she says or sees. Just kinda wish she'd kept her mouth shut."

"But what about the Harvest ritual? You told us before that you didn't believe in it. Were you right?" Giuliana asked

"No. I saw it with my own eyes. It was working. It was real." Sophie spoke, a hint of somberness in her voice.

"So, how can you be so sure Sabine's vision isn't?" Hayley questioned and Sophie remained silent, not having an answer for her.

"I don't care if we have to get you a leash; that was your last trip to the bayou." Rebekah scolded the young wolf as she poured some drinks back at the Mikaelson mansion. After successfully dodging Marcel's informant, she felt the need for a drink and a new pair of shoes after a day of stress. If anyone found out about Hayley and the baby, it would have been an end to both of their lives and Rebekah didn't want her niece or its mother to be slaughtered recklessly. "What is it with you and those wolves, anyway?"

Hayley shrugged from her spot on the couch. "I feel like we're connected somehow. I don't know. Maybe it's just some pipe dream that I have of finding any real family out there. But sometimes, when I feel like it's me against the world, it keeps me going."

"And you." The blonde jabbed a finger at Giuliana. "Next time, you'll be the one to distract Marcel. When I was talking with him, he kept bringing you up."

The brunette rolled her eyes and took a glass from the table. "You sound awfully jealous that someone else besides you is being a shown some attention."

"I am not jealous. I am rather nauseated that he thinks you could be a queen to rule New Orleans alongside him." She said.

"Let him keep thinking that." The brunette took a sip from her glass. "Look, I get that you two had a thing back then, but I'm not interested in Marcel's empire."

"See, that's the thing about Marcel." Rebekah passed Hayley a glass of alcohol and the wolf gave her a side glance as if trying to silently communicate that she couldn't drink even though she really wanted to. "Oh, right." She downed the drink before pouring another. "He is very persistent."

"I guess he learned that from Klaus." Giuliana muttered, offering her glass to Rebekah for a refill.

"And that's why I keep mentioning to Hayley that family is a pain in the behind." The Original added and Hayley rolled her eyes. The girls continued their small talk when the front door opening and Klaus walking into the living room.

"Nik, finally. What–" Rebekah suddenly froze in her spot seeing Elijah walk behind his brother, a huge smile adorning his face. She darted for her brother, throwing her arms around him and holding him tightly. Hayley and Giuliana exchanged a surprised glance, mouths agape that Elijah was finally home. The wolf stood to greet him next and Giuliana did too, but stopped once her gaze fell upon Elijah again. She was just so happy that she wasn't sure of what to say to him. Her smile faltered as she watched both Hayley and Rebekah welcome the Original home. Everyone in this room was practically family except for her. Even Hayley would become part of the Mikaelson family once the baby was born. For the first time in a long time, Giuliana felt alone in a room filled with people. She was an outsider looking in on family matters and felt very out of place. So, she quietly backed out of the room without anyone noticing except for one. Klaus's eyes watched as she excused herself without so much as a word under her breath and snuck out to the patio.

When Elijah had finished greeting his sister and Hayley, he was a bit confused seeing that Giuliana had gone. She was just in the room a minute ago, he thought to himself and looked past his sister who was chattering about excitedly. He figured that she would have been one of the first to welcome him home after Rebekah, but it didn't seem that way. Her thrumming heartbeat could be heard from outside and he had to go to her.

"Elijah! You're safe! Now that you're home, is your first plan to kill Niklaus?" She wondered hopefully.

Elijah just chuckled at his little sister before giving her a kiss on the cheek and sidestepping her. "Excuse me, just a moment." His little sister watched as he strode towards the back of the house and wondered what had made him leave so quickly.

"Where's he going?" She asked, but then realized that Giuliana hadn't been here to welcome Elijah home.

She had been easy to find, he'd be sure to tease her of that once he saw her and he gently pushed open the back door that lead to the patio. Her heart rate picked up, sensing his presence and she crossed her arms over her chest in an effort to seal out the chill of the night. She was leaned up against a pillar, staring wordlessly into the backyard and she was slightly startled when she felt Elijah's suit jacket fall around her shoulders.

"You're back." She mumbled, her hands gripping the sides of the jacket and pulling it tighter around her.

"I'm back." He said from beside her, enjoying the fresh air after being in a stuffy attic all day. "Beautiful night."

"It is." She turned herself to face him, ignoring the twinge in her back when she leaned against the pillar.

"I kept your promise; just like you asked."

The corners of Elijah's lips tugged into a smirk. "Of course you did."

"Even though I was chased down by witches, shot with an arrow through my back, and nearly found out by one of Marcel's informants." She rambled. "It's no wonder I'm not dead."

"You're strong. That's why I trusted you to keep my promise." He told her.

"Oh! And I've had to deal with your siblings too who have been nothing but a complete nuisance." She added vehemently. "You've been a terrible friend leaving me with them."

Elijah took a step towards her, a playful glint in his eyes. "I apologize for that. Surely there is some way that I can make it up to you."

"You'd need an entire lifetime." She grinned.

"Good thing that I have that." He matched her sly smile and she wrapped her arms around him. Her eyes fell closed as she rested her head on his shoulder. Embracing him felt like coming home and she smiled when his arms enveloped her.

"Is this real?" She whispered softly, her mind wandering back to the dream that he gave her and how real he felt, but this was something different. His skin was warm despite the fact that he hadn't fed all day and his grip around her was strong and comforting.

"It's real." He told her, pulling back and cupping her cheek which grew heated under his hand. His skin against hers sent tingles up and down her spine and she leaned closer to him.

"Elijah," she breathed, her voice shaking slightly as he drew closer.

Smack!

A sharp sting radiated from Elijah's cheek and Giuliana shook out her hand. He gave her a wide-eyed look, not expecting that from her at all as he held his healing cheek. She was staring sternly at him as she watched her red handprint on his cheek fade to a bruise and then to nothing.

"And if you ever take that long to come home again, then I'll dagger you myself." She said, her sternness diminishing into a playful smirk. Elijah let out a breath, chuckling with her as they shared their own little moment together. Giuliana then threw her arms around the Original again and kissed his cheek, making the skin prickle beneath her lips. He was finally home and under the pale moonlight he promised to never leave her again.

Hello my lovely readers! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving for those of you who celebrated it! Christmas is right around the corner and so is the end of the semester! Yay! So, this season is getting interesting. I won't spoil anything, but tonight's episode...HOLY SH*T! Ideas are swirling around in my head...so many plot bunnies! Anyways, I hope that all of you enjoyed this chapter and please review :D

SomebodyWhoCares: Thanks for reviewing and I totally agree about Damon and Cassandra having a date night ;)

rosa: Thank you for your review! I hope you enjoyed the little bit about Giuliana and Elijah in this chapter :)

Seira asami: Thanks for reviewing! I agree, Katherine is like a cat! She's got a lot of lives! I am sorry to hear that the you have lost interest in the show, but I am happy that you still enjoy reading my stories. I always find the professors on this show are always hiding something or really shady (remember Professor Shane?) Oh well, if you saw the newest episode, a lot of Dr. Maxfield's secrets have been found out, but there might be more!

Leah: Thank you for reviewing! Yeah, Damon is a very supportive hubby! Cassandra's stress level will only continue rise especially because of the upcoming episodes (if you've seen them, you'll know exactly what I mean!). I did think about putting in some jealous Damon especially with Dr. Maxfield, but maybe we'll have some of those jealous moments in the future.

Shining Ruby: Thanks for reviewing! I am really glad that you're enjoying my story so far! Ooh! Those are beautiful names for a little girl! Thank you for suggesting them and I hope that you enjoyed this update :)

VampirePrincess11: Thank you for reviewing :) I can't wait for the baby either!

xoxobianca13: Thank you so much for reviewing, girl! Cassandra really does care about both Elena and Caroline and I feel like she thinks of the two of them as little sisters. Damon and Cassandra are always awesome together, but there will be some tough times ahead for our favorite couple. (if you saw tonight's episode, you'll get my drift) I wanted Cassandra to be serious enough but to have a sense of humor as well. I also wanted her to get Damon's humor too. I mean, who doesn't? LOL! Thanks again, girl! Hope you enjoyed this one :)

Guestie: Thank you so much for reviewing! Two days?! Whoa, that's a record! I am glad that my stories were able to keep you entertained, LOL! Get some sleep, girl! I do wish that Cassandra was on the show too! I wouldn't mind playing her or even writing her into the show! Joy is such a beautiful name and thank you for suggesting it :) The best on fanfic?! Now you're just making me blush! Thank you so much and I hope that you enjoyed this update!

Guest: Thanks for your review and your name suggestions! They are really beautiful and unique :)

shippolove844: Stefan is great and I do like Elena at times. Other times she can be a little annoying to watch, but I guess I see some of myself in Elena, so I do take a liking to her. I have loved Elijah since he first came onto the screen and I like him even better now with his sexy haircut ;) I missed having Katherine around and I really hope that the writers don't kill her off! I'm glad that you liked the Elizabeth Báthory idea! Thanks so much for reviewing and I hope that you enjoyed this one :)

grapejuice101: Thanks for reviewing! Hmm, it looks like Dr. is interested in Cass, but maybe it could be for his work...? Who knows...hehe

sexytime321: Here's your update! Hope you enjoyed it :D

Rose1324: Here is your update! Hope you liked it!

Nicole: For me, it is just easier to keep both shows together in one story because there could be a crossover later on and there kind of is one especially with the phone calls back and forth between Elijah and Cassandra. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and I am a little upset that the writers have not added Kol to the story as much as they should. I could fit him in a flashback and I know which one I could write him in :) Thanks for your review and I hope that you enjoyed this update!

rosa: Thank you for reviewing! I am trying to update chapters as quickly as I can, but it is difficult with school. I hope that you're enjoying the chapters so far and thanks for reviewing :)

I: Here's your update! Hope you enjoyed it :)