Last update for tonight :) Thank you all so much for your reviews, especially always. :D I love you all so much! xxx

Elijah waited for Tatia to wake. He had spent the last few hours sitting silently in the corner of his room staring at the woman and contemplating what he should do. From below, he could hear the voices of his siblings as they each awoke and congregated downstairs.

It had surprised him when he met Allie last night; not knowing that she and his brother had reconciled. Elijah deeply regretted what he did and the consequences his actions had for his sister-in-law. He hoped that Allie would one day forgive him now that she and Klaus were together once more, but in that moment, he had more pressing concerns.

A quiet groan escaped Tatia lips and alerted Elijah to the fact that she was waking. How he was going to approach the subject, he did not know. He only knew that he had no choice but to ask her if Allie's accusation was true.

"Good morning, Elijah." Tatia smiled happily; stretching her limbs and taking advantage of the space in the bed.
"Good morning, Tatia."
"Is something wrong?" Tatia asked, sitting up in bed; noticing how Elijah made no move towards her and gift her with the morning kiss she had grown accustomed to over the previous weeks.
"Did you sleep with Damon Salvatore?"

Tatia froze. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought Elijah would ask her such a thing. She knew Allie had not had chance to tell anyone of her illicit night with the oldest Salvatore brother and so, she wondered what had happened to make Elijah question her. Fixing her face so it portrayed complete innocence and ignorance, Tatia opened her mouth to speak.

"Of course not. What would ever make you think such an absurd thing?"
"Allie said you had."
"Niklaus's wife? She's back?"
"Yes, she is. She came back last night."
"Oh, how interesting."
"Why would she say it if it weren't true?"
"Elijah, you are responsible for nearly destroying her marriage to your brother. She hates me because she thinks I am in love with Niklaus. She wants to hurt us."

By now, Tatia had left the bed and was kneeling down in front of Elijah; her hands grasping his and her eyes pleading with him to believe her. Staring into Tatia's brown, doe eyes, Elijah wanted to believe her with every cell of his being; believe that she was telling the truth and that he was the only man she wanted. So he did.

Lifting Tatia up from the ground, Elijah sat her down gently on his lap and pulled her in close; his arms wrapping around her tightly and his lips seeking out hers. The second Elijah's lips made contact with her own, Tatia knew she was safe. He had believed every word she said. It bothered Tatia that Allie had returned to the house; foiling her plans of successfully claiming Klaus as her own yet again. Yet, despite Allie's return, Tatia wasn't too worried. She had managed to seduce Klaus once already. Doing it again shouldn't prove too tricky, she thought.

The hot water was heaven to Allie. The way it blasted down on her soft skin made her feel as if all her stress was being beaten away. She had awoken only minutes before and could hear the sounds of Kol and Rebekah talking to one another from the ground floor of the house. She could not, however, hear whether Elijah was awake or not. She wondered whether he would confront Tatia about Damon and ask her to leave and never come back. It was the very least the woman deserved for sleeping with her husband, Allie thought to herself.

A pair of arms wrapping around her waist alerted Allie to the fact that Klaus was awake and decided to join her in her morning shower. Klaus nuzzled his chin in the crook of Allie's neck and inhaled her sweet scent. He had missed her so much. Never ever would he let her go again. Tensing her body slightly at his touch, Allie spun herself around so she was facing him. The grin on his face told her that he was ecstatically happy to have her back.

"You can have the shower to yourself, Klaus. I'm all done." Allie stated, quickly exiting the shower before Klaus could stop her, and dripping water on the floor as she grabbed a fluffy white towel and wrapped it around her body.

From the shower, Klaus watched her leave the bathroom and shut the door behind her so his view of her in their bedroom was blocked. Slamming his fist against the tiled shower wall, Klaus let out a groan. Of course, he hadn't expected Allie to forgive him in just a few hours but he hadn't for a second thought she would reject his touch. Klaus knew he was never going to forgive himself for what he did, but he didn't know how he would survive if his wife never forgave him. She meant more to him that she realised and he needed her more than he needed anything else in his life. He was aware that he needed to be patient and that in time, Allie would forgive him, but a part of him doubted she ever would; that his efforts would all be in vain.

Upon finishing his own shower, one in which he had taken much more time than he actually needed in order to give his wife some space, Klaus wrapped his lower half in a towel and entered his bedroom. In the corner, sat at her dressing table, Klaus could see Allie. Dressed in a long black, silk robe and now with dry hair that shone like gloss, Klaus admired his wife from where he stood and let himself smile a little. However, his smile quickly faded when he heard the quiet sobs radiating from her.

Closing the space between them in a matter of seconds, Klaus lifted his wife to her feet and enveloped her in a tight hug; one hand holding her close to his body whilst the other stroked her hair. Her quiet sobs turned into painful cries and Klaus could feel her tears soaking his shoulder as he continued to hold her. He did not need to ask her why she was crying, he already knew the answer and it shamed him that he was responsible for the anguish he was witnessing.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered into Allie's ear. "I am so, so sorry."

He would continuously repeat those words for minutes on end until Allie's cries died down and then disappeared altogether. Even when she had fallen silent, Klaus did not let go of her and was pleased when Allie did not try to move away from him.

Knocking on the door of her childhood home, Allie was overjoyed when she saw her sister answer the door. Flinging themselves into each other's arms, the two women hugged each other with great force and beamed with happiness. Elena had not known where her older sister was and had been extremely worried about her during her absence from Mystic Falls. To see her standing in front of her made her feel happier than she had in weeks.

"Allie! Where have you been? Are you okay?" Elena questioned, leading her sister into the house and towards the sofa.

From the kitchen, Jenna and Alaric entered with their young son, hearing the commotion, and were surprised and delighted upon seeing Allie standing before them. Looking at each of her family members, Allie was glad to be back in Mystic Falls. She was surrounded by people who loved and cared for her; she couldn't ask for any more than that. Suddenly, she felt guilty for causing them stress and worry with her disappearance and non-communication.

"I'm really sorry. I should have told you where I was."
"Where were you?" Alaric asked.
"I went to stay with Jeremy."
"What?! We asked Jeremy and he said he hadn't seen you!" Elena almost shouted.
"I made him promise not tell anyone. I really am sorry. I just… I didn't want Klaus to know where I was."
"Are you going to tell us what happened?"
"I can't, Elena. It's… complicated and frankly, I don't want to talk about it. I asked him to bring me home and he did. We're working through it."
"I'm just so glad you're home, honey." Jenna said, hugging Allie tightly before letting her go. "Elena, help me fix some lunch for us all."

The two women left the room and Allie was left standing with Alaric.

"I'm sorry." she whispered.

Following the example of Jenna and Elena, Alaric pulled Allie in for a hug; grateful and relieved that she had returned home, but not worrying about her any less. Alaric could see that there was something eating away at his niece and it concerned him deeply.

"Don't be stupid. You have nothing to be sorry for."
"Yes, I do. I shouldn't have left like that."
"You needed space. I get that more than you think I do."
"I shouldn't have left. I'm sorry."
"Stop apologising."

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation and Alaric let his niece go so he could answer the door. Barging past Alaric, Damon entered the house and immediately sought out Allie. Throwing himself at the woman, Damon wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close.

"Where the hell have you been?"
"Damon…"
"I've been going out of my mind with worry."
"Damon…"
"Don't you ever leave again, Gilbert."

Allie couldn't resist smiling. She found it incredibly sweet that Damon had been so worried and had obviously missed her very much. She hadn't realised until that moment that she had missed him too, and she was beginning to realise that Damon could easily be considered her best friend.

"I won't, I promise." Allie replied, hugging Damon back.

"Hey, Elena. Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."

Allie was about to leave. She had spent the entire day with her family and Damon and it was beginning to get dark, but she had cornered Elena in the kitchen before leaving.

"Is there anything you'd never forgive Stefan for?"
"Why are you asking me that?" Elena stared at her sister, confused by the older girl's strange question.
"It doesn't matter." Allie said, shaking her head and leaving the room.

Allie left the house with Damon by her side. It was dark and since she had decided to leave her car with Jeremy in Denver, surmising that he needed it more than she did, she was glad of the company as she walked through town.

"So, what did he do?"
"Excuse me?"
"Well, you were all ready to go back and play happy families with Klaus but then you left town. So, I ask you, what did he do?"

Allie took a deep breath. She had not told anyone of what Klaus had done to hurt her so badly and make her leave Mystic Falls, but something in her made it so she didn't feel like she could lie to Damon. He had, after all, been looking out for her for months.

"He slept with Tatia."
"He did what?!" Damon screamed, furious. "That cheating bastard!"
"Calm down, Damon."
"How could he do that to you?! I'll kill him!"
"Damon, stop. You slept with Tatia too."
"I'm not your husband! And if I were, I never would have done that. I wouldn't even so much as looked at another woman if I had you."

In those last words, Allie was reminded of Damon's true feelings for her and she believed every word he said to her. She knew Damon would never stray from her. Looking at him, she could in his face how angry he was but she could also see how much he really loved her.

"Please, don't tell anyone, Damon. I'm begging you."
"Fine."
"Thank you."
"Why are you still with him?"
"I love him."
"You know, if you'd have chosen me, I wouldn't have hurt you."
"I know, Damon."

Eventually going their separate ways, Allie had taken only a few steps before she heard Damon call out her name. Turning around to face him, Allie saw Damon walk quickly towards her; stopping just a few inches in front of her and placing a hand on either side of her face.

"Damon…"
"I know it's not right. I know that you're married and I shouldn't want you but I do. Being friends isn't enough for me but I'm willing to be just that, for you. I just need to do this, just once; just to be sure there really isn't a chance for us."
"Damon…"

Before Allie could say another word, Damon's lips were on hers. His kiss was sweet and loving, yet short. Allie did not kiss him back even though a small part of her wanted to. Pulling her mouth away from Damon's, Allie watched him gaze at her lustfully before walking away and leaving her standing silently all alone.