"I could get used to that."

Grace smiled as she watched Elijah fix his tie, which was something she could do forever. She still was in his amazingly comfortable bed, the warm sheets wrapped around her. His scent was all over this room and it gave her tingles. Usually she would feel uneasy because this here was all his, including the oversized shirt she wore. But with him it was just different. They were vampires, they were simply beyond money and property.

"It's good to see you smiling again. I was worried yesterday."

Sighing she fell back onto the pillows. The argument with her sister came back to her mind. Today she saw it with a clearer mind. She did the right thing. Grace couldn't have lived for another day in her shared home with Elena. Too much had happened. It wasn't pride that drove her, she would have swallowed it for a better relationship with her sister, but mistrust had grown between them and she simply couldn't face that every minute, whenever she was at home where she should feel comfortable.

She stared to the artfully painted ceiling. This room was delicate. It fitted Elijah's character, but she was a little surprised by the light colors he chose. There was a lot of vintage, antique looking furniture and carpets that must've cost a fortune, but light was the main theme, besides from books, which was another surprising thing considering he had a massive study downstairs. She didn't expect a red room of pain, but it still was lighter than she would've thought.

But then she got it. Where light was, shadows came with it. That was exactly who he was. A game of light and shadows. Grace was in the middle of it, playing with that kind of fire. She stared at him wondering, admiring the way he moved. So elegant, but obvious that a predator was hidden under all this fine linen.

"A penny for your thoughts."

He turned around to face her, his dark brown eyes a chocolate color as the sunlight highlighted it.

"I'm asking myself if you're really ok with me living here...like permanently and not just for some days."

A smile tugged on his lips and he stepped closer. Grace felt the mattress shift when he sat down and then she felt his hand cupping her cheek.

"I couldn't be more delighted. I have to admit that it has been a long time since I slept that well like in the last two nights. With you by my side."

Her heart melted right in front of him. She felt exactly the same. It was unbelievable how homey she felt in here. Grace hoped that Rebekah and Klaus were ok with it, too.

Elijah leaned forward to kiss her gently. She returned the kiss smiling. But after a way too short while, Grace pulled back.

"You probably have tons to do now that your mother turned out to be an evil witch and I'm here distracting you."

He chuckled and pushed her hair behind her ear.

"I have to admit that I really like you distracting me. But to be honest I allowed myself to spent the morning with you. There's not much I can do about mother."

Actually there was. He could chase after her, find out what she was cooking up after her plan to kill them failed. But he wouldn't leave Grace alone here, still, on the other hand he wouldn't dare ask her to come with him. She had too much unfinished business here.

Grace nodded and stood up, coming to a stop in front of the mirror. She couldn't help but feel embarrassed by her condition. Her eyes still had a hint of red from crying to much, she was pale and her hair was an absolute mess.

Elijah seemed to notice her being upset, as he was quick to step behind her and wrap an arm around her waist. Their gazes met in the mirror and he light placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Don't. Grace, you're beautiful. You always are."

Sighing, she leaned against his chest and examined their reflexion in the mirror. He was so damn good looking. A contrast to her disheveled figure with his flawless suit and neatly combed hair.

"I should borrow some clothes from Rebekah, have a hot shower and then I'll probably feel better."

Withdrawing his arm from her to set her free, he nodded.

"I already made sure you have something to dress...and for breakfast."

He motioned to a shelf were a blood bag was placed. A spark of admiration lit up in her eyes, thankful that he took care of everything she would need. It was unbelievingly cute of him and she then knew that this had been the right decision. She was safe here, safer than anywhere else.

"One last thing...um..."

It surprised her that he was actually able to hesitate. Usually he was so confident in his speak. She even could've sworn that a flush was creeping up his neck.

"...I can look for another room for you to occupy, if you don't feel comfortable."

An awkward atmosphere rose, but Grace broke it by laughing. Smiling she shook her head. Elijah noticed that with seeing her eyes shining brightly, he immediately felt warm and ripped away from any dark moods.

"I'm perfectly fine here."

He was just a gentleman through every cell in his body. This Original vampire, one of the most powerful creatures on earth, something similar to a king, cared so much about her well being that he actually asked himself if she could feel uncomfortable by sharing his bed with her.

"I'll wait for you downstairs."

With one last amused glance at her, he disappeared through the door.

Grace took her time to relax under the state-of-the-art shower. She could have spent hours here, but as she knew Elijah, he meant it that he would be there only for her today. Wrapped in a towel, she quickly brushed her teeth and put on the brand new expensive clothing he bought her. Again she noticed how much thought he spent on her being here. He managed to get her cosmetic products, a toothbrush and clothing within less than an hour. No one had ever done something like that for her.

A minute later, she found Elijah in the massive living room, sitting on one of the couches with a book placed on his crossed legs. He spared a short glance at her, but instead of joining him on the sofa, Grace paced around the room, inspecting it closely. She had helped Klaus with some of the decoration, but she never had time to have a closer look at the finished room.

Finding herself fascinate by the shiningly black piano, she carefully touched the clean white keys. It was an old model, but obviously cherished throughout time and restored with expertise. Grace didn't really know much about musical instruments, but she enjoyed it when furniture, decoration and relicts like this piano had their history.

"Do you play?"

She asked, curious about his answer. Even if they moved forward fast in their relationship in the last few days, there still was so much to find out about him. Especially those basic little things. Sometimes he was quite hesitant to share those. In the night of the ball she asked him what his favorite food was and he answered that he had none. She wasn't satisfied at first with it, but then he told her that he had experienced so many flavors, so many different senses that were tickled by it, that he couldn't tell. It gave her hope that he actually had lived a life between saving his family.

"Yes, I do."

Elijah answered, forcing his eyes to stay at the lines he already read a hundred times before, but now he couldn't concentrate on them. Still, he was afraid to embarrass her by staring at her all the time. He enjoyed to take in the way she moved, the gestures she made. It was his way of getting to know her.

"Do you enjoy music?"

He asked when he was sure that she wouldn't continue this conversation. It was then when he noticed that after a long while he enjoyed talking about those unimportant things of life. Once music, history and art were something he cherished, but it faded away over time, when he realized that he was about to fail the vow he and his siblings once swore to each other, with the climax that he tried to kill his own brother. Grace helped so much to bring him back to the right path, to care about that little bond of trust that was developing between his siblings. His mother and the Salvatores where the ones that put that in danger.

"Kind of. But not the active way. I don't know how to play an instrument. Well, I'm told to be quite a good singer, but more the under the shower type."

Her laugh was light and it was like music to his ears. She even flushed a little while talking about her hidden talent. Elijah could imagine that her sweet voice would sound amazing singing. A smile tugged on his lips and he couldn't help but put his book aside. He walked closer to her.

"I would love to hear you singing."

His curiosity was sparked, but he also wanted to take her mind full off her quarrel with her sister. He still didn't really know what happened, but she would tell him when the time was right. It must've been very harsh, Grace wasn't the person to turn her back on her family easily.

Grace now felt her cheeks getting a deep red color and she chuckled shyly.

"Oh no. I haven't sung since..."

"...since you became a vampire?"

His eyes were staring right into her soul. She wanted to look away, but her placed his index finger under her chin to prevent it. Nodding, she rolled her eyes.

"With the heightening of your senses, music changes, too. It's more intense. Every tune is like a pure emotion. But when you get used to it, you will experience every sound richer, you will feel it with every cell of your body."

At the end of the sentence, his voice grew lower, like a whisper and Grace got a hint of what he meant. She felt her bodies reaction to his voice. She could hear every shade of his deep baritone, as if every phoneme lit another part of her on fire. Her breath hitched and lost in this feeling, she let her hand wander down his chest. He leaned down to kiss her, but Grace knew that she couldn't stop if he kissed her know.

"Scarborough Fair. That's my favorite song to sing. Do you know the tunes?"

It took her all of her self control to not let it happen right now. She wasn't sure if singing was the best idea in a house full of people that had supernatural hearing and that wouldn't hesitate to tease her if she sucked. Her voice was probably pretty rusty.

But of course Elijah nodded and sat down on the small stool in front of the piano. It wasn't long before the first soft tunes of the beautiful song sounded from the amazing instrument. Even if he didn't if he played just from remembering, he didn't make any fault, no disharmony interrupted the sweet melody.

Grace took a deep breath and closed her eyes to shut herself from feeling embarrassment.

Are you going to Scarborough Fair...parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme...

Elijah's whole body tensed in surprise when he heard the impact of her brilliant, clear, sweet voice. It didn't interrupt his perfect play, maybe it made him put even more passion into it. Her usually relatively deep voice came to a surprisingly clear soprano, but it also made a chill of pleasure run down his spine when the song came to deeper tunes. He lacked of words to describe it, but she sounded so utterly genuine and free while singing that it made his heart swell.

Klaus' found himself drawn to the sound of Grace's voice. It tickled his senses when he was in his room painting and he felt the urge to hear more of it. The sound became richer by every step he took towards the living room. He recognized Grace's voice immediately, but he still was stunned. The hybrid hadn't known that his friend was capable to produce such lovely tunes from her tiny body. But it fitted her. She was passionate, emotional, but still stable and sophisticated while singing, like her self confidence grew with every second she had to explore her own voice with her new senses.

He felt pleased to see Elijah play the piano again. Did Grace even knew that he hadn't played in years? She made him. It was another thing that Klaus admired about her. This girl had a way to make people rediscover the good parts in them. She even did it with him. But the power she had over Elijah was fascinating. It made a part of his brother come out that Klaus thought was long lost. For this short moment, in their bubble of music, he looked carefree. Klaus himself hadn't seen this kind of love in a long time.

He would have awaited that he would envy their bond. But he didn't. It surprised him that he didn't feel scared or threatened to loose his brother, because he loved someone else more than he loved Klaus. Maybe because he knew Grace. He knew that Grace would never have any impulse of trying to rip his family apart.

Suddenly, Elijah lifted his gaze and met Klaus'. The brothers stared at each other meaningfully for a while, before a joyful smile came upon Elijah's expression and he spared a short, admiring look on Grace.

This moment brought a feeling that he thought was long lost for him. Hope. Hope that one day his family could be happy. Klaus was sure that the girl that had meddled her way into his heart would have a great part in it.

I know this chapter didn't do anything to push the story forward, but I had the feeling that Elijah, Grace and Klaus deserved a little moment of peace. 3