((GOD, I AM SOOOOO EVIL...:)))

"To what do we owe this pleasure?" Stefan scoffed as Matt Donovan came to his side

"Stefan," Elena scolded in a low voice, then turned to Elijah, "Would you like to sit down and talk?"

"Sit down and talk? Why is he even in this house in the first place?" Matt huffed

"Because I invited him in," Elena said firmly as she turned and walked past them, leading the way into the kitchen

Matt and Stefan stared at Elijah incredulously as he passed them, following closely on Elena's heels.

She lowered herself into a seat at one end of the dining room and smiled, nodding for Elijah to take a seat at the other end.

They stared at each other for a few moments until Stefan and Matt both entered the room, distracting Elena.

Matt tried to make himself useful by putting on some coffee, but Elijah could tell that Stefan was uncomfortable sitting with an original in the house.

He kept pacing the kitchen like a guard dog, always standing just a few feet away from Elena. The only time he moved anywhere close to Elijah was when he first entered the kitchen and called Damon, told him that Elijah was at the house, and then set the IPhone with Damon on the line in the middle of the table.

"So why are you here, Elijah?" Stefan asked directly

Elena rolled her eyes and shook her head, then mouthed an 'I'm sorry' to Elijah, seemingly embarrassed by Stefan's attitude.

Elijah let his gaze linger on Elena for a moment, then turned to Stefan, "I'm here to make a deal, of course."

"What kind of deal?" Matt asked from behind the island in the center of the kitchen

"A deal that will benefit all parties," Elijah said, shifting in his chair before he continued in a low voice "I understand that my Mother has turned Alaric Saltzman into a vampire hunter."

"Yes," Elena said, the hint of pain still reverent in her voice

Elijah's face softened as he took in her pain, then continued, "I would like to make a deal that will allow for both my family and Elena's safety. First of all, I want you to turn over Klaus' body to me. When I have it—then I propose us working together to stop Alaric. All we need is to take that stake away from him. Once he's been disarmed and the weapon is in my possession, my family will scatter to the ends of the earth… and Alaric, will follow us." Elijah smirked, his eyes falling again to Elena, who gave a short nod, then averted her gaze as she sensed Stefan come up behind her.

Elijah watched as Stefan pulled out the empty chair between Elijah and Elena and sat himself down—seeming to have the need to come between them and break their eye contact.

"And you'll just run?" Stefan inquire with a raised eyebrow

"We've done it before," Elijah countered, not letting Stefan break his eye contact with Elena "Klaus and Rebekah spent the better part of a thousand years evading my father, what's another half-century while Elena is able to live out the rest of her natural life?"

"We finally stopped him, Elijah," Elena spoke up, seeming to have the need to prove to Stefan that Elijah was not influencing her, but she also seemed to have genuine concern, "After everything he's done to us, I can't just let you bring him back."

"I give you my word, Elena," Elijah said intently boring his eyes into hers, "I will not revive Klaus with in yours—nor even within your children's lifetimes…" he paused for a moment and looked down, straightening the placemat in front of him, "Perhaps that will finally teach him some manners."

"Why should she trust you?" Matt said, moving forward to stand behind Elena' chair, Elena taking a deep breath and averting her gaze again, "All you've done is screw her over."

"And for that, I'm deeply ashamed," Elijah said, lifting his head and keeping his focus on Matt, trying to keep a handle on his heightening emotions, "But know this—she could have been dead the instant I walked through that door tonight."

God he hated explaining himself to Elena's entourage—he really wished that he had just been able to deal with her alone.

It was then that a thought came to him—he could.

"So, Elena," he said, allowing his gaze to fall on Elena again, "I leave it to you to make the decision…whether to trust me or not."

"NOT!" Damon Salvatore's voice echoed over the IPhone's speaker in the middle of the table.

Elijah had almost forgotten that he was there, listening to their conversation.

"Hello! Did that concussion give you brain damage?" Damon continued to shout and Elijah's face fell when he realized that he was talking about Elena, "his lunatic siblings will kill you the first chance they get!"

Elijah tried to push his feeling about Elena being hurt to the back of his mind as he responded, "Rebekah and Kol will honor the terms," he said looking down at the phone, then up to Matt, Stefan and Elena, "if you return Klaus' body to us, I will see that Elena will come to no harm."

There was a moment's pause as Elena's eyes shifted nervously to Stefan and Stefan straightened, his nostrils flaring.

"Do we have a deal?" Elijah asked as followed Elena's gaze to Stefan

"NO!" Damon shouted again through the phone, "No, no, no, no…did I mention? NO!"

Stefan closed his eyes for a moment before reluctantly looking out of the corner of his eye to Elena.

"Elena, it's up to you." He said in a resigned voice

"Oh, come on!" Damon cried angrily from the speaker again

Elena sat forward and met Elijah's eyes, "Why do you want Klaus' body?"

Elijah took in a breath, "He's my brother. We remain together."

Elena's eyes softened in understanding and Elijah thought he even saw Stefan straighten, clearly also understanding the importance of keeping one's family together under any circumstances.

Elena let out a breath, but Elijah could read her thoughts before she even said what she was going to say.

It seemed like she just needed to 'think about it' for her friend's benefit.

"We have a deal," she said, still staring intently at Elijah

"Thank You," he whispered and she nodded solemnly back.

Elijah looked around the room for a moment, then pushed back his chair and stood.

"Well, with that being said, I should go outside and call Rebekah. She'll want to know what is happening. Excuse me, will you?"

"Damon," Stefan's said into the phone as he picked it up off the table, "Go back to the storage unit for Klaus' body. We'll call you again when we figure out how we are going to move next."

"Fine," Damon sighed, "Just be sure to keep an eye on 'pretty boy original' alright?"

"You know, I can hear you, Damon," Elijah scoffed, turning back toward the IPhone in Stefan's hand.

"I know," Damon quipped

Elijah rolled his eyes as he pulled his own phone out of his jacket pocket as he made his way out of the kitchen and down the hallway toward the front door.

As he neared the foyer, he felt a hand grab his arm from behind.

Out of reflex more than anything else, he quickly turned, grabbed the hand and with vampire speed, pinned the perpetrator against the wall next to the door.

When Elijah saw that it was Elena beneath him, her eyes wide and her breathing quick, he immediately pulled back.

"I'm sorry," he said in a low voice, but Elena quickly cut him off by grabbing hold of his free left hand—his right still held his cell phone—and without a word, led him to the hall closet nearby.

She looked down the hallway to check that the coast was clear, then opened the door and pulled Elijah inside, closing the door behind them.

They were in complete darkness for few moments before Elena pulled the chain light above them and the closet was immediately illuminated in light.

When Elena didn't say anything only stared at him, Elijah stepped forward and placed a hand on the side of her cheek.

He too was unsure what to say, but it seemed that while their words were few, their feelings were quickly becoming palpable.

"Elena—" he whispered, but before he could get anything else out, she lurched forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tight, her face buried into his shoulder.

He took in a deep breath for a moment, then closed his eyes as he felt her warmth and the sound of her now steady heartbeat, engulf him.

He slowly brought his arms around her in return, resting his chin on the crown of her head.

"I've missed you,' she whispered, "I never thought I would see you, again."

Elijah's breath staggered and he gave a small smile.

When she pulled back, she gazed deep into his eyes as he brought his hand to rest again on the side of her face.

After a moment, something caught his eye—causing him to lower his gaze to her neck.

There, safely sitting on her collar bone, was Liliya's necklace.

Elijah smiled as he lowered his hand from Elena's face to rest on the charm at her neck, her eyes following his movements.

"I'm sorry I left. Please understand that I had to, Elena," he said, keeping his eye on Liliya's charm, unable to look her in the eye. He was sure that if he did, he would break.

"I shouldn't be around you when I'm like that—You deserve so much more…" he whispered

Elena grabbed Elijah's hand from the charm and took it into hers, trying to meet his gaze again.

"I don't want you to leave again," she said softly

Elijah's breath caught as he forced himself to look down into her eyes.

"We have to, Elena, if anything to keep you and those you love safe. As long as Alaric is following us, you and yours will come to no harm—"

"But what about you? Running from a vampire hunter is no way to live."

"I've lived that way for centuries—it won't be anything new, believe me."

Elena scoffed as she pulled out of his grasp

"I can't ask you do to that for me. It's not right-"

"You aren't asking or forcing me to do anything, Elena," Elijah replied, "This is my decision and Rebekah and Kol understand and accept the conditions of getting back Niklaus' body. If this is the only way that I can have you safe and Niklaus and the rest of my family together, then I will take it—even if it comes with a rogue vampire hunter that we have to deal with for fifty more years."

"I can never make any of this up to you," Elena said softly, her voice suddenly filling with emotion

Elijah lowered his eyes for a moment, then gently grabbed Elena's arm and pulled her towards him.

He wasn't sure what was coming over him, but his heart, in that moment, decided to rule over his head when it came to her—Hell, why not, right? It had been ruling over it for an entire day now.

He knew what he wanted and he knew that there was a very limited opportunity that he would be alone again with Elena anytime soon.

"I—I don't know what will happen tonight or how things will turn out," he said in a low voice, "And I don't want to confuse you further—I know that you have a tough decision ahead of you when it comes to the Salvatore brothers, but I want you to know that—"

Suddenly, without warning and as though she could sense everything he was feeling, Elena cut him off by moving in quickly, and after brushing her nose against his for a moment, brought her lips to Elijah's in a soft kiss as she gently brought her arms up to wrap around his neck.

After a few moments, he eased back, but she kept her arms firmly around his neck, gently pulling him back in and deepening the kiss as he turned and backed her up against far wall of the closet