This chapter is rated "M" for mature for the opening scene. You can easily skip it and not miss much.

Chapter 13: Finally

******Miami******

Buffy eventually got her romantic moonlit stroll on the beach with Elijah after hours of dancing. They weren't holding hands, but he was by her side as they walked, breathing in the salty air. The moon was bright and reflecting on the water. They walked several minutes in silence, enjoying the stillness and each other's company.

"This is perfect," she finally said, stopping and gazing out at the water. "I was born and raised in Los Angeles and spent a lot of time by the water. When I moved to Sunnydale, I didn't have as much time for it."

"It's easy to get caught up and lose sight of things we love," Elijah remarked.

Buffy took a chance and reached for his hand. "I like being here with you," she said softly.

Elijah tugged her closer and put his arms around her as he gazed down at her. "I like being here with you, too," he said. She was an incredible woman, and he could hardly believe that someone like her would choose to be there with someone like him. The blood on his hands seemed to fade when he was around her. He bent his head so that he could kiss her.

Buffy sighed into the soft kiss as her arms went around him. The kiss that started out soft quickly got out of hand. When Buffy pulled back for air, Elijah's lips trailed down her neck, pulling a groan from Buffy.

"Would you like to take this back to the hotel?" Elijah murmured.

"Okay," Buffy said on a gasp as he sucked hard on a particularly sensitive spot. Before she could step away, he pulled her against him and raced away. Buffy was breathless at the speed. She held on tight.

He stopped at the door of their hotel room. "Oh God! Warn a girl next time you do that!" Buffy admonished, taking a breath, her heart pounding.

Elijah smiled. "I am sorry. I just didn't want to wait a moment longer," he said, reaching for her once more. His lips moved over hers, and Buffy's arms went around him once again.

A few minutes later, they managed to get the door open. "You have too many clothes on!" Buffy told him after he led her to the bed.

Elijah grinned and begin loosening his tie, his eyes locked with hers. Buffy returned it with a wide smile of her own as she kicked off her shoes, watching him strip as she did the same.

When he was standing before her nude, she thought her heart was going to jump out of her chest. "You are one gorgeous piece of man-flesh!" she exclaimed.

Elijah moved toward her. His hands went to her shoulders, and he lowered her bra strap.

Buffy gasped when his hands closed around her breast, squeezing them as he bent his head, trailing his lips down her neck. Soon his lips closed around one of her breasts, and he suckled hard. When Buffy's hands wandered downward, she grabbed a hold of him, squeezing lightly.

Elijah pulled back, giving her a smoking smile. "Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"I just played with your dick. I think I'm sure," Buffy said with a snicker.

Elijah resisted the urge to laugh—a first for him. He bent down and swept her up, and then laid her down on the bed. Covering her body with his, he kissed her hungrily. Then he moved down her body, his lips everywhere.

Buffy couldn't hold back her scream when his hand parted her, and two of his fingers plunged inside. Just like that, she shattered. However, he didn't give her time to recover, his tongue following, and he had her climbing yet again.

Buffy's mind was spinning at all the delicious sensations coursing through her. "You are too good at that!" she gasped after another orgasm burst through her.

"I've had some practice," he said, giving her a wry smile. Then he moved back up to kiss her once more. "Are you ready?"

"Funny vampire," Buffy said, brushing her hand down his left cheek. "I think I've been ready since the day I met you." Emotion filled her. It'd been too long since a man moved her the way he did. His touch left her on fire as much as it filled her with warmth.

When he moved over her and plunged inside her, she wrapped her arms around him and held on tight.

Vampires had a lot of stamina when it came to sex—Spike had taught her that. However, an Original vampire with ten centuries of practice even if he only took one lover a year or one every ten years still had legions more practice. Buffy realized that sex with Elijah couldn't compare with sex with anyone else ever. She lost count of how many times she came before he finally exploded inside her, filling her with his seed.

No worries about STDs or pregnancy concerned her as he collapsed next to her moving her on top-another advantage of a vampire lover.

"I think I'm dead," she moaned.

Elijah brushed his hand down her back. She was perfect. Feeling at peace, he fell asleep.

Buffy opened her eyes and saw that his were closed. "I guess I wore you out," she said smugly. She dropped a kiss on his lips and followed him into slumber.

*****New Orleans*****

Willow woke up with the sun as was her habit when she wasn't up late slaying. She was dying to see the city and try the famous beignets she'd heard Buffy brag about. After taking a shower, she went to Klaus bedroom. "Are you awake?" she asked without knocking. She knew that his vampire hearing would allow him to hear her if he was.

"I have a child. Of course, I'm awake," the British voice said through the door.

"You sound grumpy? Do you need blood? Angel and Spike were always grumpy when they were hungry," Willow said on the other side of the door.

The door swung open. "I am not grumpy!" he said in annoyance. He held Hope in his arms. "Hope's out of diapers."

"So let's go out!" Willow said excitedly. "I've never been to New Orleans, and I want a beignet for breakfast! Buffy told me they were delish!"

"Fine. I need to put Hope in her stroller," Klaus said.

"Can I hold her?" Willow asked eagerly.

"I suppose. You better not drop her!" he admonished, causing her to roll her eyes.

"I can hold a baby! It's not my first time," she told him. She grabbed Hope from him while he went downstairs. Willow followed at a slower pace, her eyes focused on Hope. There was something about this child. When she made it to the bottom of the stairs, Hope put her hand on Willow's cheek. Willow gasped. She felt an incredible power course through her.

"Oh, Goddess!" she gasped.

"What's wrong?" Klaus asked in alarm, moving to take Hope from her.

"I just felt such a rush of power coming from her when she touched me!" Willow exclaimed in awe as she gazed at the baby.

"She is powerful. We've already seen some signs," Klaus said. "She's more unique than her mother or I. She is a witch with the werewolf gene, whose blood turned her mother into a vampire. We're not sure exactly how it will manifest as she gets older."

"That's incredible," Willow said. "If you ever need a witch to help you with her, please call me. I've heard the witches here are all into ancestral magic."

"The ancestors here tried to kill her when she was born, including her witch grandmother, my mother," Klaus shared.

"Gee, I thought it was bad that time Buffy and I were almost burned at the stake by our moms. At least they were under a demon influence," Willow said with a rueful smile.

Klaus put Hope in the stroller. "Mom dearest created us and then has sought her destruction ever since," he said.

"I guess she didn't realize her spell would cause you guys to need human blood to live," Willow said knowingly.

"No, she did not," Klaus said flatly. "Are you ready?"

Willow nodded and was quiet as they walked out of his compound. The streets were already alive with people. The energy was intoxicating for Willow. She'd spent too long isolated training witches or fighting demons or fighting with Kennedy. Every breath she took allowed her to feel lighter and lighter, and she was so glad she came.

Klaus stopped at café that served a good breakfast and coffee. Willow kept up the chatter all through breakfast. Klaus had a hard time believing she was as powerful as Buffy claimed. When Hope threw her toy, however, Willow caught it with an invisible hand. Then she put it in Hope's hand.

"Watch, Hope. You can get this from me. Use your magic," Willow encouraged.

Klaus frowned. "What are you doing?" he asked suspiciously.

"It's never too early to start teaching her magic. If you don't encourage it, she'll do it in secret, and then you'll never know what she's doing," Willow advised.

Klaus was disturbed at the idea. "Yeah, well, my sister is a very powerful witch. She will teach Hope all that she needs to know," he informed her.

"Fine," Willow said with a pout. She handed Hope the toy.

Hope grinned. "Mine," she said.

Klaus grinned. "Now she's channeling her Aunt Rebekah. She's very possessive," he said.

Willow ordered her pastry and some coffee. Klaus ordered one and fed it to Hope, who made quite a mess. It was hard for Willow to reconcile the hybrid's reputation with his current role as doting father.

"Who's your new friend?" Marcel asked as he approached their table.

Klaus and Willow looked up at the new arrival. "Marcelus," Klaus acknowledged. His eyes zeroed in on his companion. "Davina."

Willow looked at the witch with interest. "This is the witch that's been a thorn in your side, right?" Willow asked Klaus.

He rolled his eyes. "That's putting it mildly. If Marcel and my late brother Kol didn't love her so much, I'd have ripped off her head ages ago," he said.

"I'd like to see you try," Davina said, her eyes narrowing.

"Let's not fight," Marcel said easily. He held out his hand to Willow. "I'm Marcel Gerard. This is Davina."

"Willow Rosenberg," Willow said, shaking his hand. Then she held Davina's for a moment.

Davina's eyes widened. "You're a witch," she said.

"Yes, and I'm Buffy's best friend. I'm going to break Hayley's curse on the next full moon," she shared.

"The ancestors don't like other witches in their town," Davina warned.

"That's too bad," Willow said. "I don't take orders from dead witches or teenage witches either. Hope needs her mother."

"I know," Davina said quickly. "I'd do it if I could."

"Well, I can, and I will," Willow said confidently.

"I suggest you run along," Klaus said to them. "Willow and I are just getting to know one another." He reached into the diaper bag to take out some wetnaps and began cleaning up Hope.

"It was nice meeting you," Willow said brightly.

"You, too," Marcel said. He stepped back and let Klaus put Hope in the stroller.

Davina watched as the two walked away. "Klaus has an extremely powerful witch in his pocket now?" Davina asked, upset.

"I don't think anyone can have that witch in their pocket," Marcel said. "If she's the slayer's best friend, her allegiance is to Buffy."

"And Buffy's allegiance is to the Mikaelsons," Davina pointed out.

"I don't think so," Marcel said. "Elijah brought her to town to keep Klaus reigned in. He saved the life of a close friend of hers."

"This isn't good. They're upsetting the balance in the city, and the ancestors won't like it," Davina warned.

"I'm not sure there's anything they can do about it," Marcel said. "I don't think they want to take on this particular witch."

Davina watched the hybrid smile at the witch as they strolled out of the café, pushing the stroller. She had a bad feeling that this woman was going to turn the city upside down.

******Miami******

Buffy woke up to the unusual feeling of a man's arm around. She smiled as the memories of the night before flooded her mind. They had woken up several times through the night, unable to get enough of one another. He was insatiable.

So was she.

She turned in his arms and kissed his chest, running her hands across his muscular physique. "You are too pretty," she murmured with a happy sigh.

"I thought men were handsome or sexy," Elijah replied, opening his eyes. He smiled warmly at her.

"Well, you are both of those things and still very pretty," Buffy announced. She moved up to kiss him.

Her growling stomach, though, interrupted the kiss.

"Looks like I need to feed you," Elijah said.

"Food would be nice," she agreed.

"How about I order some room service while you take a shower?" he suggested.

"That would be good if you promise to join me," Buffy said, giving him a coy smile. She stood up from the bed, naked.

Elijah watched her walk toward the bathroom. She was exquisite. "I'll be right there," he promised, picking up the phone and ordering a large breakfast.

It'd been a long time since he allowed himself to feel such contentment. He stood up and walked to the bathroom. When he opened the door, Buffy was stepping into the shower. Completely comfortable with her nudity, she grinned at seeing him.

"The food will be here in twenty minutes," he told her.

"I think I can work with that," she said, giving him a wink. Then she stepped under the spray.

Elijah didn't hesitate and stepped in behind her.

******Chapter End******