Happy Birthday, Elena
Chapter 25
By the time Alaric, Klaus and Kol got to the Salvatore Boarding House, all three were completely pissed off. Just after Alaric had explained the situation to Klaus and Kol, he had gotten a call from Jeremy telling him to hurry because Elena's condition was being sped up. Relaying the update to the other two, they hurried their pace to reaching Bonnie. Surely once she heard of Elena's condition, she would drop the pretense of being against her friends and help save Elena. The only thing that made their mission to get to the Bennett witch was that she was already walking out of the front door and striding toward the three of them by the time they reached the front lawn.
"What are you all doing here? You'll ruin everything." Bonnie said, her voice low in a stern whisper.
"Elena needs your help. Our mother has magically impregnated Elena and is using that same magic to speed up Elena's pregnancy." Klaus explained.
"That's not possible." Bonnie denied.
"It shouldn't be possible, but Elena needs you, Bonnie. You're the only one that can save her." Alaric said. "She's been your best friend since childhood. You should know better than anyone that she wouldn't want to be a mother at 18. And if her suspicions about why you've been acting so out of character are correct, which I'm really starting to believe they are, you need to put a stop to this act immediately and save her." He said.
"Please, Bonnie. We don't want anything to happen to Elena. But if we don't hurry, then Elena could give birth to a child she isn't ready for by the end of day." Kol begged.
"I don't even know who you are." Bonnie replied, rounding on Kol.
"This is my younger brother, Kol." Klaus made a quick introduction. "Kol, Bonnie Bennett. Now can we go please? If Elena is freaking out, then Elijah is close to losing it." He added motioning for Bonnie to leave with them.
"I'm sorry, but I can't. I'm so close to bringing a stop to what your mother plans, I can't leave." Bonnie said.
"Are you serious Bonnie? You've been trying to protect Elena and Jeremy all summer, right? How is truly turning your back on Elena when she needs you the most protecting her?" Alaric asked.
"She's supposed to have the baby, Ric. That baby helps protect all of you. I didn't realize that this is how the baby is brought into the world, but Elena and Elijah need to keep the baby. I can't stop it." Bonnie insisted.
At that moment, Alaric, Klaus and Kol's phones all chimed with incoming texts from Caroline telling them to get their asses back to the apartment and to do whatever it takes to get Bonnie back there with them. With a sigh, Alaric looked to Klaus and Kol before turning to Bonnie.
"I'm sorry Bonnie, but Elena needs you right now, even if you can't stop the pregnancy and birth, then come with us to be by her side and explain why you had to let her go through with this." Alaric said.
"Fine. But I can't stay away long. Damon and Katherine already suspect that I'm playing both sides." Bonnie said.
"Thank you." Alaric said, and the quartet left.
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Damon watched from the window as Alaric showed up with Klaus, and another Original Vampire. He wasn't surprised that they were here, Esther had said that they would come for Bonnie. So seeing Bonnie meet them in the middle of the yard wasn't a surprise either. But he had been sure that Bonnie would stay, so after what seemed like a heated debate, and a text to Alaric and the two Originals, to see Bonnie leave with them, it threw Damon for a loop. A sensation that he never enjoyed.
"Did they come?" Stefan asked as he and Katherine walked into the room.
"Yes, and Bonnie left with them. Esther's plan is in motion. Elena must be pregnant." Damon replied, his jaw set in a hard line.
"Do either of you have a bad feeling about the rest of Esther's plan?" Katherine asked.
"Not going soft on us, are you Katherine?" Damon questioned.
"Of course not. I want to be free of Klaus, but I just feel like Esther is keeping something from us. Surely linking her children and Finn sacrificing himself for them to all die and kill Klaus isn't the whole story. There has to be ripples in the aftereffect." Katherine replied.
"What, like any vampires that they turned and so on all die?" Stefan suggested.
"That's exactly what's going to happen."
The three young(er) vampires spun around to face the Original that was leaning against the archway to the great room.
"Come again?" Damon asked.
"All of you will be dead once Mother's plan is finished. She sees us all, and every vampire that stemmed from us, as abominations, and I agree. Which is why I offered to be the sacrifice. It won't be instantaneous, but once we are all dead, all of our Sire Lines will die out as well. Every person we turned into a vampire, and every person that they turned, and so on, all the way down to the 3 of you, and any of your little friends that you've turned here in Mystic Falls, will be dead." Finn explained.
"And you didn't think it was pertinent to tells us this from the beginning?" Stefan asked.
"Mother didn't think it mattered. She still doesn't. You'll all be dead soon enough, so there was no point elaborating how Ms. Petrova will be free of Niklaus." Finn replied.
"As long as Elena is free of Elijah's compulsion with the death of all vampires, then I'm good with dying." Damon said.
"Are you really that idiotic? Elena Gilbert is not being compelled by my brother. She willingly gave up on the both of you to be with my brother, and my mother is using that connection to my brother to power the spell that impregnated Elena." Finn said with a roll of his eyes.
"You're lying." Damon said, his hands clenching into fists.
"What reason would I have to lie to you with Mother's plan so close to being complete?" Finn challenged.
"He's right Damon, Elijah didn't need to compel Elena. I noticed the connection between them from the beginning, I was just choosing to ignore it, believing that Elena's love for me was stronger than any infatuation she had with Elijah."
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When Alaric, Klaus, Kol and Bonnie got back to Elena and Elijah's apartment, they could already hear Elena's screams. Bonnie and Alaric wasted no time in rushing upstairs while Klaus and Kol remained downstairs with Tyler, Matt and Mayor Lockwood.
"How is she doing?" Klaus asked.
"The sped up pregnancy is taking too much of a toll on her. They don't know how much more she can take." Mayor Lockwood said.
"Meredith Fell showed up just a little bit ago. Like, just a few minutes before you all got back here with Bonnie." Matt added.
"Jeremy and Caroline? Sheriff Forbes?" Kol questioned.
"They're all up there with Elena and Elijah. At the rate your mother's spell is going, the two of you will have a niece or nephew within hours." Tyler replied.
"I take it Rebekah is up there as well?" Klaus inquired.
"Yeah. Elena insisted that they all be up there." Matt said.
"Well, boys, since there is nothing we can do to help, I could all of your assistance in the kitchen getting dinner together." Mayor Lockwood said motioning for all four of them to head into the other room.
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"Elena, come on darling, I need you stay with me." Elijah urged as Alaric and Bonnie rushed into the room.
"I can't, Elijah. It hurts too much. I can't do this." Elena sobbed.
"Elena, look at me." Bonnie urged as she took Caroline's spot on the bed next to Elena.
"Bonnie, please help me." Elena begged.
"I can't stop this, Elena. I'm so sorry. You and Elijah need this child." Bonnie said. "And Esther has you too far along now, I couldn't stop it even if I wanted to without hurting you or the baby." She said.
"I can't have a baby, Bonnie. I'm only 18 and we start Senior year tomorrow." Elena cried.
"I am so, so sorry Elena." Bonnie replied. "The best I can do is ease the pain." She added.
"Whatever you need to do, Bonnie. Do it. I will not lose Elena or our baby." Elijah said.
"No, no, please! I can't do this! I don't want to be a teen mother!" Elena cried.
Elijah felt his heart breaking at Elena's words. Sure, she wasn't saying that she didn't want to have kids at all, but she was saying that she wanted to get rid of their baby. Even if this was the ultimate fast track to having a child; going through all 9 months of pregnancy in a matter of a couple of hours, to hear the woman he loved beg for her best friend to stop the pregnancy, it hurt, but Elijah understood Elena's fear. Being a teen mother meant the human life that he had wanted her to live wasn't going to happen, and if it did, it would be made even more difficult with an infant on her hip. And while Elijah had no qualms with being a stay-at-home dad, he had a feeling that Elena would unintentionally use that very idea as a way to distance herself from the stigma of being a teen mom.
"Elena, at the rate this pregnancy is advancing, you'll be having contractions soon. I'm going to need you to push." Meredith Fell said. Up until that point she had been mostly silent as she did what she could to take Elena and the baby's vitals, given the quick progress at which the baby was growing.
"Elijah, please, I can't do this." Elena said, her voice low and broken, her eyes full of fear as she turned her head towards him.
"I'm right here with you, Elena. You aren't going through this alone." Elijah said as he squeezed Elena's hand before leaning up and pressing a kiss to her forehead.
"Promise me..." Elena trailed off as another scream tore from her throat.
"I promise you, my dear, sweet, darling Elena, I will never leave you. You will not lose me. I will always be here for you and our baby." Elijah replied, knowing where Elena had been going with her sentence.
"Okay, I need everyone else to leave." Meredith said, glancing at Sheriff Forbes, Alaric, Jeremy and Caroline.
"No, Caroline stays." Elena said quickly.
"What can I do?" Caroline asked.
"Help Meredith. I need you to help Meredith." Elena replied as the first contraction hit her.
"Caroline, I need you to grab me some clean towels. Bonnie, you need to ease Elena's pain before she gives birth, or this could end badly for both of them." Meredith instructed.
"I know what I need to do, but I don't know how." Bonnie said.
"Bonnie, this is your best friend. Figure it out, quickly." Elijah urged.
"Okay." Bonnie said with a nod, but her eyes still shone with fear that she would only make things worse by not knowing what she was doing.
Everything from there seemed to go in slow motion while simultaneously speeding up. But within the hour, Meredith was placing a little baby boy into Elena's arms. And once she was sure that Elena and the baby were both okay, Meredith ushered Bonnie and Caroline out of the room, leaving only Elijah in the room with mother and son. Despite her earlier insisting that she couldn't give birth and that she wasn't ready to be a mother, Elijah took notice of the small smile that pulled at Elena's lips as she ran a finger along their son's cheek. At least now he knew how they had a son that looked like he had when he was a child. He didn't approve of how it had happened, but he wouldn't trade this child or Elena for anything.
"He's beautiful." Elena whispered.
"I'm proud of you, Elena. I know that you didn't want to be a teen mother, but this is just another reason for you to stay here and do your school work here. Our son will be with both of his parents, and then after you graduate, we can leave Mystic Falls, and no one outside of our friends and family will need to know the truth about his birth." Elijah commented as he moved from the chair next to the bed to sitting next to Elena on the bed and wrapping his arms around her and their son.
"He needs a name." Elena said glancing up at Elijah.
"I can tell you what our son's name was in my dream, and you can let me know if you like it or not." Elijah suggested.
"I'd like that." Elena said with a nod.
"Raynor Grayson." Elijah said.
"I like Raynor, but not so much Grayson. I know that it would be honoring the man that raised me, but I don't want to name our son after a man that hunted Vampires." Elena said while crinkling her nose.
"So that eliminates Mikael as well." Elijah commented.
"Yes, it does. And John is out too. I never liked my biological father." Elena said before an idea hit her. "What about Raynor Henrik? To honor his uncle?" She suggested.
"I love it, and I'm sure my siblings will love it as well." Elijah replied with a smile.
"And there's only one grandparent that will be in his life, so we should probably have Alaric come up and meet his grandson." Elena said.
"I'll go get him." Elijah agreed with a nod, placing a kiss on Elena's forehead before leaving the room to head downstairs.
"You will be so loved, Raynor. Mommy and Daddy have so many people that love us that will love you too." Elena whispered while leaning down to kiss the top of the baby's head.
As she waited for Elijah to come back up with Alaric, Elena hummed softly to her son. Looking into his eyes, Elena knew that she would be able to be a teen mother. She would have Elijah to support her, and her friends and family would do what they could to help her. Plenty of aunts and uncles to watch him when Elena and Elijah needed a night to themselves. When Alaric got upstairs and to the doorway, Elena was gently rocking the baby boy in her arms. Alaric got a flash of what Isobel must have looked like when she gave birth to Elena 18 years ago, and his heart hurt for a moment, but hearing his step-daughter humming softly to his grandson, or step-grandson, he couldn't stop the smile that appeared on his face.
"Can I come in, Elena?" Alaric asked softly.
"Of course. You need to meet your grandson." Elena said with a smile as she looked over at him.
"Not step-grandson?" Alaric questioned.
"You're the only grandparent that he's going to know and is going to have in his life, Ric. He's your grandson." Elena explained.
"What's his name?" He asked as he walked towards the bed.
"Raynor Henrik." Elijah replied.
"Henrik? I take it that's a family name?" He inquired.
"My youngest brother, who was killed by a werewolf. It was his death that spurred my parents to turn me and my siblings into vampires." Elijah explained.
"What do the names mean?" Alaric asked.
"Henrik means 'ruler of the home' in German, Raynor means 'counsel' or 'mighty army'." Elijah responded.
"Strong names. Out of curiosity, why didn't you go with any of your family names, Elena?"
"None of them worked for him." Elena replied. "I have no intention of becoming a vampire any time soon. So I have time to have other children that could have names to honor members on my side of the family." She added.
"May I hold him?" Alaric asked.
"Come on Raynor, let's go see Grandpa Ric." Elena whispered as she moved to place the baby in Alaric's arms.
"He's amazing, Elena. You did amazing." Alaric commented.
"You mean in the day that I was pregnant, thanks Ric." Elena said with a smirk.
"I'm serious, Elena. For not being ready to be a mother, you did amazingly well. You can do anything you put your mind to, even if you think you're wanting to do the opposite."
"I firmly put my mind on not having a child today. But there was no way to stop it when you got back with Bonnie." Elena replied.
"And now? Do you still not want your son?"
"I'm not going to give him up, if that's what you're asking me."
"Alaric, please don't antagonize my girlfriend right now. She's had a bit of a stressful day." Elijah chided while lifting his son into his arms.
"You're still sticking with that term?" Alaric asked.
"We've been dating for 3 weeks, Ric. Just because we have a magic baby after 1 day of me being pregnant, doesn't change the timeline of how long we've been together. And I'm not going to be engaged at 18." Elena said, her gaze hard.
"You said the same thing about having a child." Alaric pointed out.
"I was pregnant for less than 24 hours, Alaric. And even that was done using magic." Elena argued. "As much as I had wished once it started that it could be stopped, there was nothing that Bonnie could do. But Elijah and I getting is something that we can control. And we're on the same page with that topic." She finished.
"Alaric, as I said, Elena has had a stressful day. And our son has more family that need to meet him." Elijah said as he rocked the baby.
"All I'm saying is that, given the change in circumstances, that maybe the two of you should revisit the topic of getting married." Alaric said as he held his hands up in surrender before leaving the room. "Who would you like me to send up next?" He asked, sticking his head back in.
"Jeremy, Rebekah, Klaus and Kol." Elena said.
"All at once, my dear?" Elijah questioned.
"Yes, they are his blood relatives." Elena said with a nod.
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Rebekah was pacing at the bottom of the stairs, and Jeremy had already given up on getting her to relax and to sit down or eat something. Klaus and Kol hadn't even attempted talking to their sister. They were all anxious about Elena and the baby, and nothing any of them said or did would be able to calm each other down. When Alaric came back downstairs, he motioned for the four of them to head upstairs, and they couldn't get up there fast enough. With a grateful smile, he took the plate of food that Liz handed him before sitting down at the kitchen table.
"How are mother and baby?" Liz asked.
"Mother and son are doing okay. But I can tell that Elena is still concerned about being a teen mother." Alaric replied.
"They have a baby boy?" Carol asked as she handed Alaric a glass of water.
"Yeah, named him Raynor Henrik." He said.
"Interesting choice of name. I'd have thought Elena would have wanted to name a son after Grayson." Liz commented.
"Elena wouldn't want to name her son, who is the son of a vampire, after a man that hunted Vampires." Caroline commented as she took the seat next to Alaric.
"She also said that none of the names in her side of the family fit for her son." Alaric added.
"And really, it isn't any of our business why Elena and Elijah chose the name that they did. He is their son, they can name him whatever they want, for whatever reason they want." Bonnie said.
"Bonnie, you said something about their child being important in stopping Esther. How exactly is a new born supposed to help with that?" Caroline asked.
"I don't know. I just know that he is." Bonnie replied with a shrug.