Elena hung in the shadows as Kol and Davina walked into the courtyard. Kol carried a sleeping boy with curly, black hair, who seemed to be right around Hope's age, while Davina held the hand of a dark skinned boy who was not much older. Kol also had two duffel bags hanging from one arm, all the boys' worldly possessions.

"This is Landon," Kol said, gesturing to the boy in his arms. "And Landon's friend, Raphael. He's a werewolf, and since he's an orphan in the foster care system, we got them both out of there."

"A wolf should be with his own kind." Hayley knelt down in front of the little wolf boy.

Raphael hid behind Davina, peeking around her.

"Hello." Hayley smiled.

Raphael grinned bashfully.

"Don't be afraid. You're among friends now."

"Your vision for the school," Finn murmured. "It looks like it's is being proven even more needed than we knew."

Elena glanced up, surprised. She hadn't realized he'd moved anywhere near her.

"No one should have to feel unwanted or suffer for being a part of the supernatural. Even if their biological families reject them, they need to know that there's nothing wrong with not being human and that there are people out there who love them."

Elijah wrapped his arms around her, cradling her belly with his hands, and Elena melted into his embrace.

With a fond smile at the sight of the two of them, Finn inclined his head and left them be.

"How are you feeling?" Elijah rubbed one hand along her side.

"All these changes she's making me go through make my skin feel tight sometimes and I'm getting to the point where I just want to meet her already."

"You look stunning," he breathed against her ear.

Elena snorted delicately and continued, "I know she's going to be the only baby I have, but pregnancy isn't my friend right now. Everything's changing so much." Her entire body was different now, including her breasts, growing to the point where Keelin was certain she'd be able to breastfeed Astrid at least a few times.

"No!" Raphael screamed and Landon started to cry.

Elena jumped and looked over at the children to see Raphael reaching for Landon, and struggled to get out of Hayley's arms.

"They seem close," Jack said.

"Raphael can stay with us until he gets more comfortable and understands that we're not separating him from Landon for good," Freya offered.

"We'll visit him and let him get to know us until he's ready to live with us," Jack agreed.

"Poor kids," Elena murmured. "Growing up in foster care, getting thrown from place to place, this probably seems like just another move."

"Come on, let's get them inside. I'm sure they're ready for a bath, dinner, and bed." Freya gestured towards the door.

Raphael looked up at Hayley, his dark eyes wide with worry.

"We're not going to take you away from your friend. Even when you come home with us, you'll never be far from him," Hayley promised as Jack swung him up into his arms. "And when you start school, you'll be together all the time.

Raphael stared up at Jack, a spark of hope in his sad eyes. When he saw that he was going the same direction Landon was, he relaxed a little bit.

"You wanna stay with Landon?" Jack asked.

"Wanon?" Raphael lisped.

"Yeah, buddy. You can stay with him, until you're ready to come home to the pack, and then, you'll be able to see him whenever we visit each other."

"So, do we know what Landon is exactly?" Freya raised an eyebrow in Davina's direction.

"No. I did a spell and he does have some sort of magical something or other in his blood. We'll have to do a more in depth analysis to figure out what exactly, but it's not anything I've encountered before," Davina replied.

"We'll figure it out," Freya said.

"Come on, let's get these boys into a bath, so they can eat and go to bed. They've had a long day." Kol led the way up the stairs.

"Are you sure you're not psychic?" Elijah grinned.

"What do you mean?"

"You came up with the idea for a school right when we needed it."

Elena leaned her head against his shoulder and wrapped one arm around his waist.

"Astrid already has classmates and she's not even born yet." Elijah's brow furrowed as he examined her face. "You need to feed."

Elena's hand went to her throat as the thirst suddenly registered and a vein beneath her eye twitched.

"Come on. The boys are in good hands."

Elena followed Elijah up to her room. When they reached her room, he closed the door behind her, then shed his jacket and situated himself against the headboard. He held out his hand and smiled at her in invitation.

Biting her lip, Elena joined him on the bed. Since admitting that they had feelings for each other, feeding from him, this taking something of him inside of her while experiencing pleasure, it felt so much more intimate than it had before.

She took his hand in hers and lifted his wrist to her mouth. As her fangs sank into his skin, Elijah moaned and wrapped his arm more securely around her.

"Elena," he sighed. "One day, after Astrid is born, I'm going to show you how it feels to be fed from, how exquisite it is."

Elena sank her fangs into his arm more deeply in response and he gasped, burying his face against her neck as he pressed himself closer to her. She was drawing this reaction from him and she alone knew what it was like to feed from him.

"So beautiful," he whispered as his powerful body shifted behind her, and he trailed open mouthed kisses down her throat.

The pleasure coursing through her body intensified as his own reaction flowed into her with his blood and she gripped his arm more tightly.

"I crave you," he exhaled harshly against her temple, his hand flexing against her side.

He'd never been so out of control before when she fed from him and it excited her as a tendril of something coiled low in her, beneath where her baby lay inside her. She wanted this from him, wanted more, but not yet.

"I want to taste your blood, Elena." Elijah bit back a groan. "One day, I will."

Elena felt her own body responding to him, her blood singing with want as it pulsed through her core. Was it her reacting to him or him reacting to her? Where did he end and she begin? Like this, they were one, together, responding to each other.

Finally, Elena withdrew her fangs and kissed the blood trails that had escaped to clean them away. Lifting her head, she studied Elijah's face.

Was this a prelude to making love? A pleasure making her ache down to her bones, filling her with need? She wasn't ready to go that far, not yet, but if this was how it felt to allow him into her body like that, she found herself becoming more curious about exploring a sexual relationship with him.

Elijah cradled her cheek, then pressed his lips softly against hers once, twice, three times. Pulling back, he looked her in the eye.

"Wow," Elena whispered.

"Indeed." Elijah brushed her hair off her forehead.

"It's almost terrifying, how intense it is."

"What makes it not so frightening?"

"Because it's you and I know you won't push me into something I'm not ready for."

"Your faith and trust in me is humbling." He gently drew her against him, tucking her head under his chin. "It's an incredible gift, and I pray I continue to be worthy of it."

Elena pressed her lips to the hollow of his throat in response, and tucked in closer to him.

"I love you, Elena."

Astrid chose that moment to kick hard and Elena hissed. The baby continued to move, hitting as hard as she could.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just Astrid running out of room and making her displeasure known." Elena attempted to shift into another position, but that didn't make things any better.

"Be kind to your mother, Astrid," Elijah rubbed her belly gently and Astrid calmed, her movements softening, almost as if she could understand him.

"I wonder if we woke her up."

Elijah chuckled, his breath stirring Elena's hair.

"Will you promise me something?" Elijah asked after a long moment.

He moved them both so that they were facing each other and Elena's breath caught at the vulnerability in his dark eyes.

"Will you promise to tell me if your feelings change after Astrid's birth?" His brows furrowed and he swallowed thickly. "Let me down gently."

"You really are worried that I feel the way I do because of your blood?"

Elijah didn't say anything, but Elena saw the acknowledgment in his eyes.

"If it was just your blood making me feel like this for you, I'd have fallen for you the first time I fed from you."

"I've seen the effects of sire bonds and the like and it would be devastating if something similar happened with us."

"Sire bond?"

"The bond that can sometimes form between a vampire or hybrid and someone they turn. It means the newly turned vampire or hybrid will always do what their sire wants, unless the sire sets them free."

"You didn't turn me though and your blood affects my body, not my feelings for you." Elena cupped his cheek. "I fell in love with you over the course of months. So believe me when I say, I love you."

Elijah caught her hand and kissed her inner wrist softly.

"I love you, Elijah."

"Just promise me you'll tell me if things change."

"I promise." Shifting herself awkwardly around her belly, Elena kissed him lightly on the lips, then framed his face with her hand once more. "Not needing to drink your blood anymore won't change how I feel for you, I promise you that too."

"I love you." He exhaled shakily and kissed her gently.

In this position, she could feel his entire body, including an unfamiliar hardness in his trousers. In a moment of shock, Elena realized he was aroused and she gulped. It shouldn't have been a surprise considering her own reaction and the way he'd responded. But there was something else, not just that. He wasn't exactly a small man, so it made sense that this part of him would measure up to the rest of him. Would it hurt when she finally took him inside her body?

"Shhh." Elijah shifted so that she could no longer feel him that way. "Breathe, Elena. I won't hurt you, I swear it."

"I guess I'm really not ready for that."

"Just being with you like this is enough."

Elena settled beside him, her head on his chest.

"I need to clean up." Elena sat up and shifted to the edge of the bed. There was a wetness between her legs that was becoming uncomfortable, a reminder of what her body wanted from him.

"Of course." He gave her an understanding smile, as if knowing what she needed.

In the bathroom, Elena breathed air free of Elijah's scent and this cloud that had taken over her mind finally lifted. She wanted him, but she wasn't ready for more than kissing and touching. Feeding from him proved far too much for her to try to go any further.

Once she could think without aching for Elijah, she rejoined him on the bed, tucking herself against his side. Elijah wrapped his arm around her, his touch encouraging intimacy, but allowing things to remain innocent in comparison to their earlier actions.

"What will happen with the school plans?" Elena asked, desperate for a topic that wouldn't lead to her acting in a way she might regret later, as much as she might want it now "Will things be moving forward now?"

"Finn asked to be the one to deal with the contractors and everything. He's always hated what we are, so being able to do this makes him feel like he has a greater purpose, like it's because he is what he is that he can give back in this way."