A/N: Alright guys, second to last chapter! Hope you enjoy!
Hushed voices….a steady beeping….a tiny whimper….
Elena's eyes began to flutter open, and she was met with an unbearable bright light. She winced, lifting her arm to cover her eyes quickly, before feeling a sharp pain in her wrist. As she began to come around, she came to recognize that she was in a hospital. More correctly, she was in a hospital bed with an IV tethered into her vein. She followed the line of the IV up to a clear saline bag, then immediately turned her attention to the clear bassinette which sat a small distance away from her. As she watched closely, she could see a slight movement amongst a cocoon of blue blankets. She desperately tried to sit up, but found it to be a daunting task; Her limbs felt weak, and her eyelids still heavy.
"He's okay," she sighed wearily in relief.
"Of course he's okay," a deep voice emerged from the corner, causing Elena to gasp in surprise and snap her head in the opposite direction. "He's more than okay; he's perfect."
Elena felt her heart slow slightly as she exhaled. "You almost gave me a heart attack," she giggled lightly.
"It's only fair, as you've almost given me a heart attack with this whole passing out, small coma thing you've been doing for the past two days," he spoke calmly, walking over to the bassinette.
"Two days?" Elena said in disbelief.
"Yup. A modern day sleeping beauty…though honestly I could have done without all of the worrying you've put us through. I'll have gray hairs before you know it."
Elena managed to sit up more comfortably in the bed, closing her eyes and briefly remembering what all had transpired up to this point. Ivan…hybrids….the baby. As she opened them back up, she found that Klaus had picked up the swaddled bundle from the bassinette, cradling him gently in his arms.
"You ready to meet your mommy? She's been dreaming about you, you know," he softly spoke to the bundle, walking slowly over to Elena. Elena took a deep breath in, nervous butterflies fluttered in her stomach as the hybrid stood next to her, giving her a small smile before lowering the infant down into her waiting arms.
As Klaus settled him into her arms, she felt her heart immediately skip a beat as her warm brown eyes connected with his cool gray ones. He was awake, and not just looking at her, but looking into her. Soft, round rosy cheeks and a set of perfect, pouty lips adorned his tiny content face. Wisps of brown curls peeked from underneath his tiny blue baby cap. He felt heavy and solid in her arms.
Klaus took in Elena's breathless expression with a warm smile. "I told you. He's perfection."
Tears of happiness began to stream down Elena's face. He was beautiful. He was everything she'd dreamt of and more. And most of all, he was here, in her arms, alive and safe.
"I…I just can't believe he's here…"
"All thanks to you, of course," Klaus stroked Elena's head gently. "You were brave to go through it alone; I can't even begin to imagine the pain you endured Elena…" he paused, sighing heavily. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there sooner for you and him."
Elena shook her head, taking a finger to gently stroke the baby's cherub cheeks. "Don't be sorry Klaus…everything that I went through was worth it." She looked up to Klaus. "Where are Rebekah and the others?"
"Rebekah went to go grab a bite to eat. She'll be thrilled to see you awake when she returns," he replied.
"And Skasha?" Elena quickly followed. She noticed that his demeanor shifted slightly, as he reached over to touch the infant.
"She's dead," he spoke quietly, watching as the infant squirmed and whined slightly. He immediately turned to go to the bottom of the bassinette, searching for something. "It's about time for him to eat again. He's a little porker; he eats like nothing I've ever seen."
"Must get that from me," Elena giggled jokingly. Klaus growled slightly, standing up empty handed.
"There's no more formula. I'll go get some more," he quickly stated, heading for the door.
Elena looked down at the infant, who watched her inquisitively and expectantly.
"Klaus wait a sec," she spoke just as he was about to exit. "Let me give it a try."
He looked at her in slight surprise, but proceeded to shut the door as Elena pulled off a sleeve of the hospital gown.
"It can't be too hard, right?" she looked up to Klaus for some signs of reassurance.
Klaus shrugged slightly. "I can remember my mother doing it for Henrich when he was an infant, but I didn't sit there and take notes."
Elena smiled, and proceeded to adjust the baby to her nipple. To Elena's surprise, he latched on quickly and began sucking vigorously.
"Wow…you are a strong one aren't you," she said in amazement, leaning back into the pillows to get more comfortable. Klaus pulled up a chair to sit close and lay his head on the edge of the bed, watching quietly as he fed. Elena looked from the baby to Klaus, smiling at the similarities she could already see between them. She reached her free hand out to stroke Klaus' head gently. He smiled, and let his eyes close slightly, enjoying her touch.
Their brief moment was interrupted as a light knock came on the door, followed by a plump, stout lady peeping her head in the room.
"Hello there, I was just coming to bring more formula…" the nurse entered the room, but stopped at the bassinette. "But I see you've mastered the art of breastfeeding quickly!"
"Not so much me as he has," Elena smiled gently down at the baby boy, who was beginning to nod off into a light snooze as he fed.
"Well I sure am glad you've woken up, your husband was so worried about you. You two make a lovely couple, and an even lovelier child," the nurse smiled widely.
Elena blushed slightly, seeing Klaus open his eyes to peer up at her. "Umm…thank you," Elena nodded her head.
"Well I'll just leave you two to it. I'll leave the formula just in case," she sat the bottles at the bottom of the bassinette, and proceeded to exit.
There was a slightly awkward silence that followed. Klaus made the first move, by simply tilting his head into Elena's hand more. Elena's soothing motions had stilled, however. She sighed, withdrawing her hand to cover herself back up, and almost instantly he knew what would come next.
"We need to talk about this…"
"Can it wait until later, Elena? Please…" he mumbled into the mattress in frustration.
"No, it really can't," she shook her head, determined to speak her mind. Unbeknownst to him, she'd been giving the issue of their arrangement some serious thought over the past week. The kidnapping situation with Ivan, however, brought the issue to a head.
Looking down at the baby, she sighed deeply. "Going into this, I had such a clear image of how things were going to be. We were supposed to have sex, I was supposed to get pregnant, have the baby…then you were to wipe my memory clean and return me to Mystic Falls to be with my family," she looked at him to find that he was looking at her almost dejectedly. Swallowing, she continued. "But this…" she looked down at the baby once more. "This wasn't part of the plan Klaus," her voice began to crack. Her resolve to make it through without getting emotional was quickly crumbling as she looked onto the angelic face of the infant. "I wasn't supposed to fall in love with him…or with you."
Klaus felt his breath hitch in his throat. Fall in love with him….love him, the unlovable, monstrosity…
"Or with Rebekah for that matter," Elena lifted a hand to wipe away her tears. "Or everyone else that has helped me along the way. I wasn't supposed gain a family…" she trailed off, sniffling up to finish getting her thoughts out. "And now, I'm sitting here holding my son….our son, and I know that I can't leave him. But I also know that I can't just leave and forget my family back home Klaus, and I'm stuck in the middle of this hopeless situation having to choose, and…"
"Shhhh," Klaus gently pressed two fingers against her lips, and wiped her excess tears away from her face. He could see that she was on the cusp of falling apart, being torn in two with this decision. He leaned in to press a kiss to her lips gently, before continuing. "You don't have to choose between anything Elena. We'll find a way to make it work. I promise you that."
"But how Klaus?" she asked exasperated. "How in the hell can you promise me something like that?"
He gave her an amused look. "Come on Elena, after everything both you and I have been through, both with and against one another, you honestly believe that we can't find a way to make this work?"
Elena sniffled again as he tilted her chin upward, giving her a fuller kiss on the lips. "I love you, and I love him. That's all the motivation I need to make it work."
Elena saw the determination that glinted in the hybrid's eyes, and smiled back in return. As she turned her attention back to the baby, she noticed that he was once again awake.
"Now, enough of all this gloomy talk. We have more important things to deal with," the hybrid stated, standing up fully.
Elena looked up at him curiously. "Like?"
"Like what we are going to name our son. We can't keep referring to him as 'him,'" he chuckled lightly. Elena looked back down to the boy, who was staring back at her brightly.
"I have an idea…but I'm not too sure if you'll like it too much," she smiled.
"Go on," he raised a brow in question.
Elena looked down at the baby again. "Grayson. Grayson Jonathan. After my father. Well, fathers," she giggled.
Klaus looked at Elena's delighted expression, then down at his son, smiling contently.
"I love it."