What I Want

Alex walked back into the house and pulled out her phone, she didn't know how long until Elijah would get out of the tree, but everyone needed to get in where he couldn't enter. She rang James first.

"Hey—"

"Just met Elijah. Everyone needs to get into a house now," said Alex as she ran upstairs.

"Elena just went into class, according to Sarah. I'll get her and Jeremy and meet you back at the house," said James.

Alex stopped and heard footsteps on the front porch. She paused and listened.

"Clever trick using the tree," she heard Elijah say from the other side.

"Alex, are you still—" She hung up on James and sent him a message. Elijah is at the front door. Take Elena and Jeremy to Bonnie's house. Alex walked back down the stairs and slipped her phone into her pocket.

"Alex is your name, is it? Is that short for Alexandra by any chance?" said Elijah.

Alex pulled open the door and tried to keep her face as emotionless as possible. "Yes, how did you know?"

Elijah smiled. "I knew your grandmother."

"Lucky for you, I never did. Though from what I have been told she was a traitor of our family."

"Nadia never liked to be told what to do, especially when she was in her early twenties. She made friends with vampires and witches alike, helped out those who needed it and didn't ask for anything in return. Your great-grandparents called her traitor simply because she wasn't prejudiced."

"Sounds like you knew her well."

"I did." The smile on Elijah's face grew soft and almost sad. "She was a dear friend who helped me when I had no one else." The pain in his eyes surprised Alex. It was hard to imagine someone who was supposed to be so dangerous, suffering.

Alex cleared her throat and pushed her emotions aside. This wasn't about bringing up old memories. "What do you want, Elijah?

Elijah sighed and leant against the door. "To talk."

"I highly doubt that."

"Okay then, what do you think I want?"

"To take the doppelganger to your brother, to kill her."

Elijah crossed his arms over his chest and said, "That would be the most obvious answer. However, what I want and what you believe are two very different things." He pushed away from the door and stepped back. "Elena is what my brother desires above most anything else. He wishes to break the sun and the moon curse, and that would mean that Elena would die. However, my brother has caused me more suffering and taken more away from me than most know."

"You talk like you hate him."

"I do, on some level."

"But he is your brother, and you love him." Alex didn't know what she was saying. For some reason, as she spoke to Elijah, she felt a strange connection. It was something she had never felt before. It was almost comforting or reassuring. What she didn't understand was how could a vampire make her feel like this?

"Love can only be stretched so far." Elijah cleared his throat. "And now that I have met you and can tell that for some reason you care for this Doppelganger means a great deal to you, I believe that together we can both get what we want."

"You want to work together?" asked Alex.

Elijah nodded. "Precisely."

Alex couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Hell no!" snapped Damon. "We are not trusting this original dick."

"And why do you get to decide? Damon knows best is that right?" snapped Caroline.

"Yes. I have fought him, twice, and I know his end game. He will wait until we turn a blind eye, kill us all and run off with Elena." Damon dropped onto the couch and took a sip of his drink.

The group all had gathered at the Salvatore's boarding house, it seemed to be there gathering place. After Alex's rather odd conversation with Elijah, he had given her some time to consider his offer. Once he had vanished, she called James, then Elena, and filled them in. The group seemed to be split between what to do.

Alex usually would never agree to work with a vampire. But then again, these were normal circumstances, and she already found herself surrounded by them. She craved some normalcy and just wished that the vampires would attack directly like they did so she could just wipe her hands of them.

"Alex, you spoke with him. What do you think?" asked Alaric.

Alex met Alaric's eyes and felt a shudder run through her. Everything about Alaric was still throwing her off, and she wasn't sure why. But regardless of her feelings towards him, she didn't know what to think. "It is impossible to know who to trust. Elijah could be very well playing with us as Damon said, or he could really want to kill his brother."

"Why doesn't he just kill Klaus himself?" asked Caroline.

"Original's are very hard to kill. Klaus is also stronger than Elijah. He would need Klaus to be weak and vulnerable to attack before he had a guaranteed chance," said James. Alex was glad he was here. He had shown up to the house not long after with Robert, Sarah had stayed near the Bennett's home to keep a close eye. It had been difficult to explain everything, her mind was reeling from the fact that Elijah knew her grandmother.

Alex didn't know much about her family tree. She knew that her parents had been a part of the Council, as had her grandfather, and her great-grandparents. Alex had asked Renee, but she always seemed to avoid the real details. She had even tried looking through the Council's archive, but all of the Ravenwood family histories were limited.

Alex was tempted to ask Elijah more. If he knew her grandmother, he might be able to shed some light.

"Alex? You okay?"

Alex snapped out of her thoughts and looked at James. Everyone seemed to have started to head towards the door. "Sorry," she said. "Got lost in my own head."

He took her hand and said, "What's going on in there?"

Alex tried to smile confidently. "Nothing. Just considering the options."

"I think we should trust him," said Elena. She stepped up beside Alex. "What do we have to lose?"

"You," said Stefan. "You are what we could lose."

"He's right," said Alex. "If we work with him, then you will stay far away."

"I can't let you do that," said Elena.

"You aren't letting me do anything, I am your sister. Protecting you is what I do." Alex nudged their shoulders together. "Besides, I ain't afraid of no original vampire when I have all of my witchy powers!" Alex wiggled her fingers in Elena's face.

Elena rolled her eyes. "Stop bragging." She grabbed Alex's fingers. "What are we going to do about Jeremy? He won't sit idly by."

"I already have that sorted out," said Alex.

Alex stood outside of Jeremy's door. She could hear the music playing and how Jeremy was humming along to the words. She hadn't been able to keep her promise of spending time with him since she got back. All of the Elena drama had taken over and Alex had been swept up in it. With how dangerous everything was getting, she needed to take some precautions to protect him, and also Jenna. Both of them were mortal without any way to defend themselves. They would be the easiest way to get at any of them.

Alex knocked twice and waited.

"Come in," said Jeremy.

Opening the door, she was happy to see that Jeremy was still having somewhat of a regular night. He had his school books spread out over his bed, even his sketchbook was open. Jeremy offered her a smile.

"Hey, Jer," said Alex.

"Hey. How did it go?" he asked.

Alex had made sure he stayed home. Keeping him away from the conversation kept him a little more protected. "Same as always. Damon was a pain. Elena tried to be the voice of reason. No decision was made." Alex walked over and sat on the edge of his bed. "You didn't miss much."

Jeremy nodded.

Alex eyed the sketchbook and smiled. "Your sketches have gotten a lot better since I've seen them. May I?" she stretched her hand out for the book.

Jeremy sighed and hesitated. "I don't tend to share my work."

Alex smiled. "Yeah, but it's me."

Jeremy smiled and handed it over.

Alex flipped through the pages and admired the drawings. There was a mix of landscapes, faces of people she didn't know and those she did. There were a few cartoons and even some random things like a dining table or a candle. "You are amazing."

He shrugged. "All I can do is draw. If anyone is amazing, it's you and Bonnie."

"I wouldn't call witchcraft amazing," said Alex. "Exhilarating, unpredictable and dangerous, yes. Amazing, not so much."

"Do you ever wish that you hadn't been born one?" he asked.

Alex looked away from the sketches and up at Jeremy. A million things could be seen on his face. "Why?" she asked.

Jeremy scratched the back of his head. "I hate everything that has happened to us. Mum and Dad. Elena being this weird magical twin. You not being my actual sister."

The words hit Alex like a knife was being twisted in her stomach. Not his real sister. She put down the sketchbook and stood up.

"No, sorry. I just mean that it was something Mum and Dad lied about. You're my sister. I don't care about blood relation." Jeremy stood up and pulled her into a hug.

Alex smiled and returned the hug. That moment of pain had been Alex's biggest fear after finding out the truth. Jeremy and Elena were everything to her and losing them wasn't an option. But knowing that they hadn't shared blood brought up doubt and gut-wrenching fear that Elena and Jeremy may not want her or need her if she wasn't really their sister.

"I suck," he mumbled in her ear.

"No, you don't." Alex pulled back and cupped his face with her hand. "This whole situation is complicated enough without all of the supernatural crap. If we were normal, then we would have some time to clear all this crap up."

"Normal life, is that even possible?" he asked.

Alex was going to make sure it was. Keeping Jeremy and Jenna out of harm's way meant getting them away from everything. Robert had new orders, approved by the Council, to take Jeremy and Jenna out of Mystic Falls and away from Virginia. If they weren't anywhere near Elena, then they couldn't be used against them.

A simple spell was going to put Jeremy and Jenna in a temporary coma. They would remain perfectly healthy and wouldn't even notice the time going by. Robert would keep them protected, and when it was safe, they would be able to come back.

Alex pulled Jeremy back into another hug, this time she pulled his head down onto her shoulder. "I get you back to normality, I promise." She closed her eyes and took a breath. "Somnum." Jeremy slumped in her arms. She careful sat him down against the side of his bed and sent a message to James, Jeremy is asleep.

It only took a moment for him to respond. So is Jenna.

The door to Jeremy's room swung open again and Elena stood there. She hadn't liked the idea of sending them away, even less when Alex had told her about the comatose state. But Alex knew that she would rather them safe and angry, then dead.

"Promise me they will be okay?" said Elena.

Alex nodded. "I promise. They will wake up and won't even know that time has passed."

"Jeremy is going to be so mad."

Alex sat down on the bed beside Jeremy and pushed back the hair on his face. "He'll get over it. I'm more concerned about Jenna. She is going to be a force to be reckoned with."

Elena's eyes widened. "You're right. I didn't even think about that."

James and Robert showed up not long after. As they watched Robert drive away with Jeremy and Jenna, Alex said, "No matter what happens, they will be safe." Alex squeezed Elena's shoulder and led her back inside.