Elijah
"Uh, Elijah…I think maybe you want to…" Kol called up. I made for the door and found Damon Salvatore standing outside.
"And you had to get your big brother…Are you too young to answer the door by yourself?" Damon taunted and Kol growled with growing fury.
"Elijah Mikaelson," Damon turned his attentions to me.
"Damon, to what do we owe the pleasure?" I asked.
"I heard there was a dinner party and naturally assumed that my invitation got lost in the mail," Damon said. "Alaric!" he called as Alaric came to see what all the fuss was and then he tried to just walk into my home. I grabbed him by the throat then and slid him up the door.
"That is very presumptuous of you," I said deadly quiet.
"I don't think Elena would approve," Damon choked out.
"Damon what are you doing here?" Stefan sighed and a moment later Elena appeared. I released Damon and he foolishly put on a smug grin as if he had won.
"I thought I'd join the dinner party little bro – since we're all doing this one big happy family thing."
"I think we'll leave that up to Elena," I said and everyone looked at her.
"Fine," she acquiesced with a sigh and returned for the kitchen.
"If you upset her you will answer to me," I warned.
"And me…and probably even Klaus," Kol said with a malicious grin. We returned to the study and I poured Damon a drink as he settled next to Stefan. Something else hit the floor in the kitchen followed by an eruption of laughter.
"It's almost done," Caroline called out for the third time.
"Who exactly is cooking this food?" Damon asked with a slightly worried expression.
"All of the lovely ladies," Kol grinned.
"Okay…what are they cooking?"
"Beef Wellington, and roasted potatoes…I went blank after that," Stefan answered.
"That's…ambitious"
"Blame Williams and Sonoma," Klaus sighed. "Caroline saw a cookbook."
"So I saw Elena's ring," Damon said punctuating it with a long swallow of his drink.
"Which one?" I couldn't help but bait the arrogant, impulsive vampire. He and Stefan truly had very little in common.
"Her engagement ring of course" Damon frowned. "Do vampires even do the whole let's get married thing?"
"I'm starting a trend," I deadpanned and then I thought about Klaus' picking out a ring in Tiffany's.
"She's just eighteen. She barely knows what she wants," Damon argued.
"I assure you Elena has no problem voicing her desires when others aren't being overbearing. She is a strong, independent, compassionate woman. Her compassion sometimes is mistaken for weakness. I won't make that mistake."
"Dinner!" Rebekah's musical tones floated into the study. We all made our way to the dining table. I sat at the head with Elena to my left. Jeremy sat next to her and Bonnie after that with Kol next to her. Klaus sat at the other end with Caroline on his left, Rebekah next to her followed by Stefan, Damon and Alaric squeezed in. Thankfully Klaus had gotten a very large dining table now it looked like we would be making use of it.
As we all took our seats Rebekah brought out the rather large Beef Wellington and somewhat to most of our surprise it not only looked beautiful but smelled incredible. It fell to me to serve the main course and I did gladly as plates were passed around to everyone. Stefan was pouring the wine and Caroline was handling the potatoes while Bonnie passed the warm vegetable salad. Soon everyone was settled with their food.
"So are you going to tell me what Santa Klaus got me for Christmas?" Caroline grinned at Klaus. Kol burst into laughter almost immediately and Klaus gave him a dagger glare. The rest of us joined him.
"If I tell you he won't come bring you anything. Isn't that how this works?" Klaus smiled at her. "You'll have to wait until Christmas." Caroline gave him a look of disbelief and my brother grinned at her putting a finger to his lips declaring his silence. His eyes twinkled with mischief. Caroline pouted playfully.
"This reminds me of the time that we had that dinner with Louis XIV," Kol said. Stefan gestured back and forth around the table with his fingers.
"Who had dinner with Louis XIV?" he asked.
"Well all of us actually," Rebekah said. "He and Kol had bonded over their mutual insanity and their love for pretty things at court."
"You dined at Versailles?" Elena's eyes lit up. I didn't miss Damon's eye roll.
"Yes," Klaus smiled, "several times actually."
"That's amazing," Bonnie said.
"What's the coolest thing you've ever done?" Kol asked Bonnie, "besides falling in love with yours truly of course." Bonnie rolled her eyes at him playfully.
"Well apart from some of my spells which were pretty awesome I'd have to say the time my grams and I went to Salem. I remember feeling this really weird vibe at the time and I had no idea why. I brushed it off at the time but now I know it was because I connected with the power there."
"I liked Salem," Kol said. "How about you Caroline?"
"Umm…well other than seeing half the world I guess I'd have to say being Miss Mystic Falls."
"I've never won any kind of a pageant like that," Rebekah said wistfully.
"You've been to hundreds of balls," Caroline said wistfully.
"Well from now on you're invited," Rebekah smiled. "It's more fun with friends anyhow - especially when they're practically my sisters." Damon almost spilled his wine trying to check out Caroline's fingers.
"I compelled Elvis. In fact I single-handedly am responsible for the chicken and waffles trend," Damon said. Everyone traded stories and laughter as we ate and I watched as my family was just that – a family.
After dinner we made our way into the living room. I noticed Damon and Elena were missing. I hoped he wouldn't push her. He never knew when to stop.
Elena
I had been carrying things into the kitchen when Damon grabbed me and hauled me up one of the staircases and out onto a balcony. I jerked my arm free.
"Damon what are you doing?" I fussed at him.
"Trying to save you by talking some sense into you," Damon worried. "You take off in the middle of the night without so much as a post-it and when I finally find you you're in Paris with the whole crazy original family. These are the same people that sacrificed you Elena!"
"Now where have I heard this before?"
"Okay I admit that they can be very flashy and they can play well-mannered but you're not actually falling for this routine are you?" Damon was looking at me like I was a small child who didn't know anything about the world beyond his protection and what he chose to feed me.
"No, the routine I fell for so long was the one where you and Stefan tried to decide my every move for me and I let you. I let you because when I first met you I didn't even know vampires existed – much less werewolves and witches! I thought that you and Stefan knew better in a world that I had never experienced but you took advantage of that and soon you thought that gave you the right to make every decision for me."
"You are out of your depth Elena!" Damon ran his hand through his hair and moved from one side of the balcony to the other.
"And now Damon? I'm a vampire now. What is the difference between us?"
"Over 145 years?"
"Elijah has 850 years on you – in fact they all do!"
"So you're just going to follow them now?"
"I'm not following anyone Damon – don't you get it? For the first time in a while I am the one calling the shots. For better or for worse this is my life and I'm living it! Stefan understands why can't you?"
"Stefan is blindsided by Blondie Original right now. When he resurfaces he'll be the first to tell you you're making a mistake," Damon said. I felt the tears escaping down my face.
"I let you come tonight hoping that you would see in them what I do – how much they've changed. I was hoping you would see how happy your brother is finally and how happy Elijah makes me. I love him Damon and he loves me. He loves me – me Damon – not the person he thinks I should be – the person I am."
"Are you okay Elena?" Kol asked as he stepped onto the balcony.
"I'm okay Kol, thanks," I said gently. He took a long look at me and I nodded. As he turned to go back inside he glared at Damon.
"You know what Elena, I've had enough of this but when you wake up and realize what a colossal mistake you're making don't expect me to still be hanging around," Damon spat angrily. He leapt over the balcony and was gone a moment later. As I turned around Kol was standing there. He opened his arms to me and I fell apart. He held me and just let me cry.
"Did you hear all that?" I managed to get out as my tears ebbed.
"Yeah, sorry, I came to make sure you were okay," Kol said.
"Thanks," I offered him a hint of a smile.
"Never doubt how much my brother loves you Elena. I have never seen him like this," Kol spoke softly. He held me until I was pulled back together and then we returned downstairs. Elijah didn't say anything just took my hand as I settled on the couch.