AN: I do not own TVD or TO

The story was about to move into some dramatic territory, so I thought to better prepare everyone I would give you some fluff. The chapter features some worry before dissolving into distractions techniques. We've got some ELEJAH smut, some CarolinexElena interaction (do they have a ship name?) and a round of games.

Elena adjusted the pillow under her head. With her eyes closed she counted the kicks that pressed against Elijah's hand. She could feel the steady beating of his heart against her back. She was beyond happy that he had communicated with her.

Most of her former paramours *cough* Damon *cough* Stefan wouldn't have done that. They would have wrapped her in bubble wrap and taken care of everything alone. That was not a true partnership; in a real, healthy relationship people talked and worked through their fears and problems together.

The only real problem was that there was no solution to the problem at hand. Elijah was certain it was not a coincidence; he was certain the witch in question was his mother. It had done him a world of good to talk to Elena, but it had raised more questions as well.

Elena couldn't understand why Esther would want to kill her grandchildren. This was the woman who had resorted to dark magic to protect her children. Even the knowledge that Klaus had killed her in a fit of rage was not enough to answer the question.

By all accounts, from the Mikaelsons who remained verbal, Esther was a woman who had loved her children unconditionally.

Elena had asked if perhaps she thought the babies would upset the balance of nature. Elijah had considered that and decided it was unlikely; she had no problem perverting nature when she had turned them.

Elijah had told her he could understand his mother holding a grudge against Niklaus for everything he had done to his family; he might even understand her motives had the children in question been fathered by the hybrid.

She was glad he had told her, but she was upset as well. He was no longer the only one losing sleep.

Elena allowed her eyes to drift open. Clouds covered the moon outside and cast the new room into deep shadows. A week after the full moon Elijah had suggested a change of scenery to better help her relax. The chance to get away from the Quarter was too good to miss.

The decision had the added benefit of getting Klaus away from the city; he had grown rather antsy after a week back in wolf form. He had even started growling at passing tourists from the window.

The distraction had worked for a few days until Caroline and Elena were due back in classes. Over the course of the week they had made the daily trip into the city and returned each evening to the sprawling mansion on the outskirts of town. Klaus was on cloud nine surrounded by nature. He would spend the days in the woods running and hunting, but would always be back at the house when Caroline and Elena put the car in park.

Elena blinked. She was physically and mentally exhausted, but every time she closed her eyes the questions would flood her mind. And if it wasn't her own mind keeping her awake then it was the twins kicking. Tonight it was both.

She sighed and closed her left hand over Elijah's where it rested on her stomach. "Elijah," she whispered into the stillness, "are you awake?"

"Yes," he mumbled against her hair. He laid a kiss to her bare shoulder. "Are you awake?"

"No," she returned, "I'm talking in my sleep."

"It wouldn't be the first time," he chuckled and rubbed her stomach.

"I don't talk in my sleep," she hissed and swatted weakly at his arm. Elena rolled her neck and tried to look at him from the corner of her eye. She sighed when she couldn't and rolled onto her back. "Do I talk in my sleep?"

"Yes you do," Elijah propped himself on his elbow and moved a few strands of hair out of her face. "I have had complete conversations with you while you've slept. It was rather amusing those nights I couldn't sleep."

"What do I talk about?" She swallowed and bit her lip. Elena blushed when she thought of the many ways she could have embarrassed herself.

"Me, you, your brother, Caroline and Niklaus," Elijah hummed and shrugged, "you've also gone through quite the list of baby names. Most recently it's been recipes. Last night you told me how to make double chocolate brownies."

Elena swallowed when her mouth watered at the mention of chocolate. She sat up and swung her legs out of the bed. Strong arms snaked around her waist before she could stand.

"Where do you think you're going?" He breathed against her ear.

"I can't sleep and now I'm hungry," she answered and slipped out of his arms. "I am going to the kitchen," she looked at him over her shoulder, "you are welcome to join me." Elena didn't wait for him before making her way to the kitchen.

Elijah considered for a moment. On the one hand her middle of the night cravings was proving to be less than appetizing. On the other hand he couldn't sleep either and thought the conversation would be worth it. He climbed out of bed, pulled on a t-shirt, and flashed into the dark kitchen.

He chuckled when she turned on the kitchen lights and jumped a foot in the air with a startled shriek. He approached with a smirk and removed her hand from over her thundering heart.

"You did that on purpose," she gasped as he kissed her knuckles.

"I'm sorry, elskede," he chuckled. His sparkling eyes showed little to no remorse when he leaned forward and kissed her neck. Elijah nipped at the fluttering vein in her throat and heard her swallow a moan.

She settled her hands on his chest and pushed. "Don't distract me," she poked him and glared. "I'm still hungry and now I'm mad at you for scaring me."

Elena stomped past him and pulled eggs and butter from the fridge before heading to the pantry. Elijah watched her rummage through the cabinets and pull out sugar, flour, salt, vanilla, and cocoa. He nodded at the normal ingredients and took out the required utensils he knew she would need.

Elena quirked one eyebrow and eyed the items he had taken out for her.

"You went into amazing detail, Elena," he turned on the oven and set it to pre-heat. "I could probably make this myself. You told me the precise measurements and at what point to add each item."

"I didn't," she blinked.

"You did," he nodded and started sifting the cocoa.

Elena watched with wide eyes as he perfectly executed the recipe her mother had made her swear she would take to the grave. She snapped out of it when he placed the tray in the oven. Before he could turn back around Elena snatched the mixing bowl and ran her finger around the rim.

He turned around to find her sucking the brownie batter from her finger. He narrowed his eyes and snickered when she mumbled something unintelligible around her finger.

"What was that, darling?" He asked when she returned her finger to the inside of the bowl. "I couldn't hear around your finger."

"I said," she paused with her hand half-way to her mouth, "don't you dare tell anyone this recipe because it's a family secret."

"I think I could be persuaded to make a deal," he met her bright eyes.

"And what would you be asking for in exchange?" She looked up through her lashes when his hands settled on her hips.

"I'd settle for a taste," he winked and lifted her chocolate covered finger to his lips.

She moaned when he sucked her finger into his mouth. Heat pooled in her abdomen when his tongue swirled around the digit to remove the chocolate.

Her hand grasped the back of his neck when he released her hand. Elena stretched up and met his lips; her tongue darted out to taste what little chocolate remained in his mouth.

She shivered when his finger drew a wet line from her ear to her collarbone and down to her cleavage. The sweet smell that reached her nose told her it was more brownie batter.

Her head rolled back when his tongue slowly ran from the tops of her breast's to her ear.

She carded her fingers through his hair and tugged. "Do we have a deal?" She moaned and nibbled on his ear.

"I don't know," his hands slid under the waistband of her sleep shorts and pushed. When the material hit the floor he lifted her onto the counter and ran his fingers up her thighs. "I'm going to need to taste you first," he pressed one finger against her sex through her panties.

"That sounds like a fair trade off," Elena lifted her hips and allowed him to slide the silk down her legs. She heard the whisper of the material as it hit the floor. She met his eyes as he sank to his knees with a wicked smirk.

Her breath hitched when he started to lick and nip from her knee to her inner thigh. Elena leaned back and braced herself on her wrists when he sucked over her femoral artery and brought the blood to the surface in a bruise.

She released a shuddering breath when his fingers separated her lips before he moved in to taste her.

"Mmmm," she moaned, "just like that." She clamped down around his tongue when he thrust it inside of her. Fire pooled in her belly and her thighs trembled as he fucked her with his tongue.

"Yes," she sobbed and used her hand to pull his head closer to her center. "When did you get so good with your tongue? Fuck Elijah… mmm… that should be illegal."

She let out a high pitched keen when his thumb drew firm circles over her clit. Elijah swallowed her cum when the orgasm flooded his mouth, and stood up.

The first sense to come back to her was smell. The combination of sweet vanilla and rich cocoa was nearly enough to trigger another small orgasm.

The second sense was sight. The heat in Elijah's eyes lit a fire under her skin.

Her sense of touch came next. The hard muscles of his back shifted under her palms as she slid the grey t-shirt up over his head.

Her lips explored the planes of his chest; teeth nipped at his collarbone. Elena was pleased to note that her hearing had returned. She heard him groan her name followed by the annoying buzz of the oven timer.

Elena pouted when he stepped out of her embrace to shut off the oven and lift the tray of brownies. She took advantage of his turned back to remove her top and recline against the counter. A smirk spread over her lips when he turned back around and stared at her with wide eyes; she might have felt self-conscious if not for the well-defined bulge tenting his bottoms.

"And her I thought you'd knock me out of the way for a brownie," his hands settled on her knees.

"Don't be silly," she brushed her lips over his jaw and giggled, "they are far too hot to cut right now." She hooked her thumbs into the band of his pants and pushed them down; she pouted when she realized she couldn't get close enough to him… her belly was in the way.

"We may need to rethink this position," he chuckled and lifted her off the counter top. A moment later he drew her into his lap on one of the kitchen chairs. He groaned when she ground down on his erection.

"This works much better," she grinned bracing her hands on his shoulders as she sank down.

Caroline covered her yawn with her hand and stepped down into the large kitchen. The invigorating aroma of rich chocolate had roused her from sleep and drawn her from the comfort of her bed to the source of the smell.

She paused in the door when a second smell reached her nose. She rolled her eyes and flashed to snag a brownie before dropping into a chair across the table from Elena. Her eyes flickered from her best friend to Elijah's hand on her back. She leveled Elena with a knowing look and raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"You've got chocolate on your neck," Caroline took a bite and mumbled around the fudgy brownie. "I really hope it didn't get there until after the tray went in the oven."

Elena shrugged one shoulder and used her hand to swipe at her throat. "It didn't get there until after," she frowned when her fingers came away clean. "Where is it?"

"Right here," Elijah lifted her chin with his knuckle. His tongue darted out and gathered the chocolate from her throat.

"I'm still here," Caroline pretended to gag. "I'm just going to put that out there." She took another bite and hummed approvingly. "You've really outdone yourself with the brownies."

"Thank you Caroline," Elijah leaned back in the chair and smirked.

"You made these?" Caroline turned her hard eyes on Elena. "What the heck, 'Lena? You swore you would never tell anyone this recipe; I've been trying to get it out of you for years."

"I didn't tell him," Elena crossed her arms over her chest.

"Don't deny it," Caroline growled. "This is your mom's recipe. The recipe she made you swear you would take to the grave." She glared at Elena and didn't notice Klaus until it was too late to stop him. "Hey," she adjusted her glare to the wolf at her side, "that was my brownie!"

"There is still a whole tray Caroline," Elijah shook his head at his brother and stood up to bring the tray over to the table. "If it helps Elena didn't intentionally tell me; she talks in her sleep."

"I know that," Caroline dished out another brownie. "Are you telling me I could have had this recipe years ago? I should have been asking her questions… instead I bought a pair of noise cancelling headphones, which do not work for vampires, to block out her weird sex dream commentary."

"Do tell me more Caroline," Elijah smirked.

"Don't you dare!" Elena blushed under the stares of Elijah and Klaus.

"What's my silence worth?" Caroline perked up when she sensed an opportunity.

"How about: the burning of several, very embarrassing, childhood photographs from Halloween, of 2001?"

"Deal," Caroline shuddered. She did not want those pictures to ever see the light of day. "On to more serious topics. What is up with you? You've never had a sweet tooth." It was true the only times Elena felt the urge for a sugary treat was when she was super stressed about something.

"Pregnancy changes your taste buds," Elena shrugged, "and I couldn't sleep." She stifled a yawn and struggled to keep her eyes open as fatigue finally set in. "And don't you judge me Caroline Forbes. I eat absurdly healthy during the day."

"Caroline I understand that the past few months have been very stressful for all of us and that you are sexually frustrated at the moment," Kol eyed the assembly of colourful boxes and the mat being laid out on the floor, "but is game night really the answer?"

"I don't know Kol," Lexa picked up the box and read the back, "it could be fun. I've never played Twister."

"I don't think I can play Twister," Elena ran one hand over her the blue fabric covering her stomach. At twenty-three weeks pregnant she had developed quite the bump and her children were making extreme flexibility difficult.

"You can run the spinner," Caroline passed over the cardboard and took her place. "Are you going to play Kol?" She kicked off her shoes. It had been nearly a week since she'd found Elena in the kitchen.

"Sure," he took off his own shoes and wiggled his eyebrows. "This game promises some very compromising positions. How could I say no to being entangled with two beautiful women?" He chuckled and ducked to avoid the throw pillows. "I was only joking Nik, no need to growl; she's not my type anyway."

"That's odd," Elijah chuckled, "I thought you went for blonds with green eyes."

Kol picked up one of the throw pillows and chucked it at his brother. "Are you playing Elijah?"

"I think I'll sit this one out," he caught the pillow and joined Elena on the loveseat.

"Suit yourself."

"Who's first?" Elena looked between the three gathered around the edges of the mat. She started calling colours when they had sorted out the order.

"I think I like this game," Kol chuckled. It was several rounds later when Lexa had to stretch her arm over his legs so that her cheek wound up pressed to the exposed skin between his t-shirt and pants.

"Keep it clean, Kol," Elena chastised, "left hand blue."

Kol had to twist his hips so he could pass his arm between Lexa's leg and Caroline's torso. He jolted when his arm grazed over Caroline's breast and Nik lifted his head with a menacing growl. Kol's movement caused Lexa to jerk and sent all three of them crashing to the mat in a tangle of limbs.

Lexa was half on top of Kol. Caroline straddled one of Lexa's legs while Kol picked himself up from her chest.

"Nik's fault," he pointed wildly to his brother in the club chair. "That means Caroline loses right?"

"Why me?"

"He's your mate you take responsibility," Kol shrugged.

"No way," Caroline tried to separate herself but found that she was stuck under him, "you are the one who toppled us, so you lose."

"She's right," Elijah glanced up from the rule book, "you appear to have lost Kol."

"Now that that is settled could you two please get off of my legs," Lexa barked. Once she was in a seating position on the mat she looked over her shoulder to the table covered in game boxes. "Maybe we should try something with a little less physical activity this time," she slowly rubbed a cramp from her leg.

"Sure," Kol took her hand and inspected her thigh. "Are you hurt, Elskling?"

"I'm fine," she smiled and stretched out her legs. "It's just a cramp. The suggestion was more for Elena. I'm sure she would like to play a game too."

"What are we playing?" Rebekah walked in with Stefan. "Sorry we're late. We were trying to see if there was any sign of Damon in the city."

"Is there?" Elijah leaned forward and braced his hands on his knees.

"No," Stefan shook his head, "he seems to have disappeared. I'm going to call him in the morning and see what he's up to."

"Why don't you pick a game, Bekah?" Caroline pointed to the table and watched her pick up a long black box without really looking. "Cards Against Humanity with the Originals? This should be fun. Elena you want to take them into the dining room and explain while I clean this up?"

"Sure," she passed over the cardboard spinner and stood. Elena smiled when she felt Elijah settle a soft cushion behind her back at the dining room table. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he took the box from Rebekah and began to pull out the contents. "Now how do we play this game?"

Elena launched into an explanation. The card czar read a black card and everyone else offered up a white card to either fill in the blank space or to answer a question. The card czar would then choose the best combination and the person who offered it would earn the black card, aka: an awesome point.

She was finishing her explanation and telling them how the first card czar was the person who had last defecated when Caroline joined them at the table.

"We're all up to speed," Caroline dealt out ten white cards to everyone. "Who's first?"

Everyone cleared their throats and avoided eye contact for a moment. It was Kol who broke the silence.

"All right, come on then, who did the deed?" He snickered when Stefan reached for the deck of black cards.

"Whenever you're ready, Kol," Stefan fingered the edge of the card.

Kol composed himself after a well-timed glare from Lexa.

Stefan cleared his throat before dramatically reading his card. "For my next trick I will pull _ out of _."

"A sense of humor out of Nik?" Kol suggested before consulting his cards.

"That would be quite the trick," Stefan picked up the first combination and began to read the cards aloud.

"For my next trick I will pull shiny objects out of Lance Armstrong's missing testicle." The combination elicited a laugh from the table. Stefan plowed through with the remainder of the cards. "For my next trick I will pull boogers of a Dominoes Oreo pizza…. Sean Connery out of extremely tight pants… a tiny horse out of Genghis Khan… funky fresh rhymes out of two midgets shitting into a bucket… the female orgasm out of Natalie Portman."

Stefan bit his lip and considered his options before picking up the black card. "I think I'm going to have to go with Genghis Khan… how did the tiny horse get into him though?"

"I put it there with a spell," Lexa snatched the point and giggled at the faces turned to her.

"My turn then," Caroline reached for the pile. "What is George W. Bush thinking about right now? And make it good guys."

"Our crumbling political climate," Stefan muttered and slid a card across the table.

"We're all thinking about that," Rebekah grimaced.

Caroline shook her head and started reading the cards. "George W. Bush is thinking about Nickelback…" she grimaced, "… ass less chaps – that depends on who is wearing them…. Road head… the wrath of Vladimer Putin… Sex with Patrick Stuart… and finally… the winning ticket 'German dungeon porn'."

"Thank you."

"Really Rebekah?" Elijah struggled to suppress his grimace.

"Always said you were a strumpet sister," Kol smirked and reached for the deck of cards. "The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History has just opened an interactive exhibit on _." He started reading out the answers when Caroline passed him a deck of shuffled cards: "Vehicular manslaughter… throwing a virgin into a volcano… consensual sex… Getting really high… a really cool hat and me time… I'm sorry what is me time? I'm unfamiliar with the phrase."

"Generally refers to time spent alone," Caroline trailed off and gave him a pointed look.

"I still don't get it?" Kol's brows knit together. His eyes widened when Lexa leant over to breath in his ear quiet enough so the others couldn't hear: "Oh…." He cleared his throat and looked down at the cards in his hand. "I think I'm going to go with 'consensual sex'; it sounds very interactive."

"Elijah?" Rebekah gasped when her oldest brother took the point.

"It would appear you have to 'play to your audience' with this game Rebekah," he shrugged and laid the card aside.

Lexa nodded and reached for the cards. "I got 99 problems but _ ain't one." She looked up as the others started passing her white cards. "I'm very uncomfortable with that word may I change it to isn't?"

"Sure," Elena shrugged, "I don't see why not."

"Good because that is not a proper word in any language," she picked up the first card. "I've got 99 problems but 'concealing a boner' isn't one. Well that is true," she shrugged and read the next combo. "I've got 99 problems but my soul isn't one… masturbation isn't one…"

"That's becoming a bit of a problem for me," Elena breathed.

"That's what Elijah's for darling," Kol laughed when Lexa slapped his arm.

Elena blushed when she realized she had said it a little too loudly.

"May I continue?" Lexa shot her fiancé a glare. "I've got 99 problems but alcoholism isn't one… multiple stab wounds are not one… preteens are not one…"

"Not yet anyway," Rebekah mumbled with a glance at Lexa's flat stomach.

Lexa blushed and turned to glare at Kol. "Did you tell them?" He shook his head.

"Did he tell us what?" Elijah tidied his cards into a neat pile. "Oh… are you…"

Klaus lifted his head to shoot an inquisitive look at his baby brother.

"No," Kol cleared his throat and shrunk away from her glare, "I think you just did."

"At what point were you going to tell us that?" Rebekah spoke up.

"We were going to wait until after the full moon," Lexa took his hand under the table before turning to his sister, "although, it is nice not to have Klaus' commentary."

"Speak for yourselves," Caroline muttered while glaring at Klaus. Over the few weeks she had discovered that she could hear his voice in her head. It was nice for communication purposes but listening to some of his sarcastic comments did get a little annoying at times.

"So you are pregnant?" Rebekah asked to confirm. She squealed loudly when Lexa nodded causing Nik to flinch at the high frequency cry. "That's three babies I get to spoil… or is it four?"

"I'm pretty sure it's just one Rebekah," Lexa shook her head and laughed. The blood drained from her face when she thought about it though. "It is just one right… somebody listen and compare please…"

Kol smiled and squeezed her hand. "There's just one, Elskling," he leaned over and kissed her temple, "only one heartbeat."

After several more rounds the game dissolved. Everyone started heading their separate ways when Elijah motioned Kol and Lexa into the study.

"Something wrong Elijah?" Kol's arm wrapped around Lexa's shoulders as she leaned into him.

"I just thought you should know," Elijah looked between the couple, "that before Miss Bennet left town she found the name of the witch who ordered the coven to…"

"Why do we need to know this?" Kol tilted his head and glanced at Elena who had taken a seat in a club chair. "The witches are not a problem anymore thanks to the contract."

"But this one might be," Elena tucked a strand of hair back into her ponytail.

"The witches name is Esther," Elijah watched the colour drain from his baby brother's face. Confusion settled in Lexa's tired eyes.

"Who's Esther?" Lexa asked after a pregnant pause.

"Our mother," Kol breathed.

Leave a review and let me know your amazing thoughts.

I did not initially plan LOL to announce the baby this way, but it just kind of came out. I'm happy with it though; it's a lot more fun then the way I had planned.

On a serious note I might go and make some brownies. Writing this chapter gave me a real craving for them.