A.N.: So, Shadowhunters episode 3x12 inspired part of this chapter: Malec play-fighting…mmm…


Resurgam

27

Sparring


The backlash from Mason expelling Hayley from her own home had them all on high alert: Mason had changed the locks, but Hayley - belligerent, selfish Hayley - wouldn't quit. She wouldn't accept that she had been thrown out of their home: That Mason had already filled in the paperwork to get the ball rolling on their divorce.

Or that Spencer was safely ensconced with Giulia and her family while the predictable violence of their breakup blew over - to ensure that never again would Spencer end up as collateral damage.

It took Mason several days to get through to Hayley that if he saw her again, if she so much as approached Spencer outside of school or came to the house, he had no qualms in using his sidearm and the Mystic Falls' Vampire Squad to put her down. He had also filed for sole custody of Spencer, and kept the original X-ray as collateral against any attempt Hayley might make, legally, to take Spencer in the ensuing divorce proceedings.

"I mean, did she honestly believe it wouldn't all blow up in her face?" Caroline asked, sipping her glass of white wine as Giulia dealt a fresh hand of cards. They sat on the deck in candlelight, the children in bed after baths and storybooks, their own workload completed, their upcoming week organised.

"Shh," Giulia warned under her breath, glancing up to the window that belonged to Spencer's bedroom, worried he might be able to hear. "And, no, probably not; Mason let her get away with it for so long, I imagine she felt pretty comfortable that it would always be that way."

"It just sucks that Spencer's the one who had to get hurt for things to come to a head," Caroline exclaimed agitatedly, and Giulia nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.

"I know," Giulia said softly.

"It shouldn't have happened," Caroline said vehemently, scowling at her hand of cards. She gave Giulia a significant look: There had been suggestions made, over the years, that Hayley be dealt with. There had been hopes that Hayley might never return from one of her Virginia Beach sojourns with one of her umpteen boyfriends - through her own choice, or not. Usually those suggestions were aimed heavily at Giulia, who had refused to take the bait. She couldn't help think of the future, of a teenaged Spencer wanting to find out what happened to his mother - and the horror of betrayal that it was Giulia, one of the few people absolutely loyal to Spencer's happiness and safety, who had taken her away, no matter how awful a person she had been. There was a line: Giulia refused to cross it, no matter what forces were manipulating her closer and closer, bending backwards over the line trying to balance, not fall, not give in to the murderous impulses that rose every time Spencer's eyes shuttered, his expression wiping carefully blank of any incriminating emotion.

Giulia was spared Caroline's accusing glare as her phone rang. "Oh, I need to get this; it's Ric. Hi! Thank you for returning my call."

"As it concerns my teaching-staff, I figured I'd better," Ric sighed, and didn't waste time: "So you're endorsing Elijah?"

"Given you can't stop Gyda and Rebekah from enrolling, I think having Elijah on the faculty would be a wise move," Giulia advised him. "He's the head of the family - and he makes them feel badly when they misbehave, which is some feat."

"I don't want the Originals tearing through my school like it's a buffet," Ric warned.

"The protections are still in place," Giulia assured him lightly, "and that's the last thing Elijah wants, either. He knows those girls; that's why he contacted you about the position, so he can keep an eye on them. Plus…he would be an asset to the Department."

"Can he even teach?"

"He was an Oxford professor, Ric; of course he can teach," Giulia smiled. "If it reassures you, he's asked me to help draw up his syllabus for the year, so he's already taking the role seriously. Anyway…when he wants to, he has this…Professor Lupin-esque way about him…"

"You're swooning. Stop," Ric grimaced, and Giulia chuckled.

"You know what I mean; he's encouraging and warm and approachable - but stern. You don't fuck with him," Giulia said, and Caroline rolled her eyes at Giulia's language - saved for special occasions. "He sets boundaries and expectations and…people want to live up to them, so they can be proud of themselves. That's the kind of teacher you want to encourage the best out of your kids."

"He'd really keep a leash on the other two?" Ric asked.

"Gyda doesn't need a leash, particularly; but Rebekah… They squabble," Giulia said thoughtfully. "That's why Elijah wants to be at the school; to keep an eye on things and get between them before things can escalate."

Ric sighed heavily. "I don't like the idea of them at my school at all, Giulia."

"What, shall we send them over to Grove Hill and keep tabs on the newspaper headlines every morning as the bodies pile up?" Giulia retorted. As if they needed that, on top of the school-shooting last year. "No! Keep them here, keep an eye on them. 'The closer you are to danger, the farther you are from harm'."

"This is not the Lord of the Rings, Giulia."

"Of course not; there are more than four female characters of note," Giulia sniffed. "Ric… They're here. We can either rail against it as an injustice or we can embrace them, use them - push your standards at that school higher, maybe - and breathe a sigh of relief when they get bored and move on without leaving a body-count behind. Ric…"

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"Look…he's an asset," Giulia said: Because, no, Ric didn't really have a choice. But she knew Elijah far better than any of her friends had ever realised or understood. They had flirted, cohabited, fallen in love: She knew Elijah. At his core, he was a fiercely-devoted family-man with diverse interests and high personal standards. "You can use him; Elijah's one of the good ones."

Ric sighed heavily, and relented, grumbling, "Why do they have to stick around town?"

"You know why," Giulia said quietly. "Has…Isobel made contact with you yet?"

"She has," Ric said reluctantly, and Caroline perked up, her interest snagged. "She asked for her old research."

"Wait, you had it all this time?" Giulia grumbled, annoyed. "There's always something I miss…" She sighed, shaking her head. "Anyway…how did it go?"

"It went okay," Ric said mildly. "There were no threats; no-one cried."

"Well, that's a positive first-step," Giulia said.

"She said she's happy I finally have the family I always wanted," Ric said softly. "Apologised for all the nastiness… She was protecting Elena."

"And wouldn't we do the same, for our children?"

"Knowing you - you'd do far worse," Ric joked, and Giulia smiled grimly, silently agreeing. "Hey, so…if I agree to Elijah joining the faculty, he's built this backstory that Gyda is his daughter, and Rebekah's his niece. How's that gonna work out if they all get into a snit?"

"Rebekah is actually his youngest sister," Giulia said, "but Gyda is his daughter."

"Really?"

"One-hundred percent," Giulia said. "The others are all siblings or half-siblings; Kol is a maternal cousin. But Gyda is Elijah's eldest and only surviving child." There was a pause.

"Only surviving child?"

"There were others," Giulia said softly. "Seven, I think, in total. You can imagine…Elijah wants to ensure she has a happy life…" Ric sighed heavily.

"Alright… Fine, he can have the position in the English Department - on a trial basis. But - he can't prove himself equal to the task, he's out," Ric said sternly. "I have to think about my kids' education, not just their physical safety."

"He won't disappoint," Giulia promised.

"Are you gonna tell him, or -"

"No, you're the principal. You can have that honour," Giulia said, smirking gently as Ric grumbled. She was beaming as she hung up; Caroline raised an expressive eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just… You're happy," Caroline observed, and Giulia shrugged nonchalantly. "How did your date go the other night…I mean, before everything kicked off with Spencer?"

"It wasn't a date, it was dinner."

"You took Elijah to the China Room for the set menu on a Friday night," Caroline said, pulling a face. "People take their significant others there to propose during that meal!"

"Well, I'm not polygamous, so…"

"You know what I mean, don't skirt the question," Caroline said sternly. "How was your date?"

"It was…" Giulia sighed softly, catching Caroline's eye; to her, she couldn't lie, or downplay anything. Not anymore. "It was wonderful. It was like no time had passed, not really…we were still the same, even though I've…grown up…"

"I mean…you're still the same person you've always been," Caroline said fondly, "you were just a mess when he knew you last. But I'm pretty sure he saw through all that."

"He did," Giulia said quietly, laying down her cards.

"Can I ask you a question?" Caroline asked cautiously, and Giulia raised her eyes to her friend's tanned face.

"I reserve the right to deny answering."

"Fine. Is he the reason you wanted to keep the Originals in town?"

"I had nothing to do with Gyda and Rebekah deciding to stick around, or Elijah pursuing the teaching post," Giulia said warningly.

"But you're happy that he's staying?" Caroline pushed.

"Of course I'm - " Giulia blurted, cutting herself off. She licked her lips, glancing out over the lake. She sank back in her chair, her shoulders curving in with the weight pressing on them, sadness suffusing her body. She murmured, "Of course I'm happy he's staying."

Caroline nodded slowly to herself, watching Giulia's face closely. She sipped her wine, glancing at their paperwork, their schedule for the week, new properties Caroline had secured, more she wanted, quotes from Matt and the spray-foam insulators, a refund from their window vendor.

"Are you bored?"

"What?"

"Are you bored, I mean, are you bored in town, in all this?" Caroline asked, gesturing to the paperwork.

"What kind of question is that? You know I love what we do," Giulia exclaimed, frowning. Because she did look forward to every demo-day, she loved construction… And it was the best life for Zita to live in her home-town, surrounded by family and friends.

"And you're bored," Caroline said bluntly. "You were never made for this tiny town. You can do whatever you want - you can do anything… You think Tyler didn't tell me about Marcel's offer?"

"What does that have to do with anything? He asked for a consult."

"And you have enjoyed designing things, doing research, planning things for him," Caroline countered, looking like she was getting very frustrated - but not angry, or hurt. Just frustrated. "You're - Giulia, you're ready to move on… You came back for Zita…but it's okay for you to leave again for you."

Giulia stared at her, getting the distinct impression she was…being broken up with.

"Where is this all coming from?" she asked, staring at her best-friend.

Caroline's face crumpled a little "I was with Jesse for years and nothing would ever have come of our relationship, I know that. Except I know that I've got years to spend here, staying in town with my mom."

"Why is it okay for you to stay in town for your mother, but…it's not enough that I stay here for Zita?" Giulia asked angrily.

"Of course it's enough that you're here for Zita, to give her the best start - Giulia, you're an extraordinary mother, okay, Spencer sleeping in the guest-room we all know has been his since he was five is proof that!" Caroline blurted vehemently, her eyes widening. "That's not what I'm - you're bored, and you're lonely, and you're unhappy. And you deserve better."

Giulia blinked at her.

"Caroline, I…"

"If you want to be with Elijah, nothing should stop you. Not what anyone else thinks, not - not Fabian -"

"You think I would do that?" Giulia said quietly, narrowing her eyes. To…cheat on her husband, no matter that they were separated - she loved Fabian, and it hurt her more that Caroline couldn't understand that, couldn't accept that there were some things Giulia couldn't fix - and refused to give up.

"I'm saying no-one would blame you if you did," Caroline said softly. "You think Elijah wouldn't wait for you if you asked him to? He has nothing but time, and he adores you."

"What, should I ask him to circle like a vulture while I sort out the state of my marriage?" Giulia retorted, getting worked up. "How is that fair to anyone?"

"It's not fair, that's the point! It hasn't been fair to you for years," Caroline blurted. "You'd rather wait for Fabian to die than divorce him."

Giulia's lips parted on a soft gasp. Quietly, dangerously, she warned Caroline, "Don't say things like that."

Caroline's expression was resolute; she wasn't backing down. "One way or another you're going to have to settle things, the same way Mason's had to with Hayley."

"It is a completely different situation, and you know that," Giulia exclaimed, but of course, it wasn't. She wouldn't cut ties with Fabian because she loved the best parts of their relationship more than she hated the bad parts she had to endure.

"Yeah, the only one being neglected is you," Caroline retorted, her face colouring with anger. "Where is he, Giulia?"

"I don't…know," Giulia admitted, startled by the vehemence in Caroline's tone, the anger in her eyes. She gulped, and said softly, "He slipped away about eight months ago and I… He wouldn't thank me for looking for him."

"He could be dead, Giulia."

"I'd know it if he was," Giulia said coldly.

"So you're just gonna live in limbo?"

"There's nothing wrong with that," Giulia said quietly, neatening her deck of cards with short, aggressive movements.

"Nothing wrong - Giulia…you are extraordinary," Caroline blurted. "And you're wasting your life. You could be with someone who wants to be with you."

"I don't - I have Zita, and I have Enzo, and I have you - I don't need anyone else."

"Then why -?" Caroline blurted.

"That's between us!" She didn't mean to raise her voice, but Caroline stared, perhaps at the viciousness in her tone.

Quietly, gently, Caroline warned her, "You have to figure things out, because otherwise you're going to waste the most amazing opportunity you have to be with someone you love, and who'd choose you over everything else."

"Oh, well, then…there's no issue," Giulia said, her voice choked with emotion as her throat and her eyes burned. Why did she have to pick this fight? To make her think more of the situation than she could afford?

"What?" Caroline blinked.

"What makes you think Elijah would choose me?" Giulia scoffed, shaking her head, sniffing. "It doesn't matter. I have Zita. Nothing else matters."

Caroline left. Giulia stayed on the deck, her eyes blurring with tears as she watched the lingering sunlight shimmer off the tranquil water, listening to the hum of the insects and the chorus of nightingales, warm with anger and upset, volatile and shaken by Caroline's confrontation. The panoramic doors to the living-room hissed softly as they were pushed open, and the familiar scent of Enzo's cologne teased her nose as he approached her from behind, looping his arms around her in a hug, his chin nestled on her shoulder, holding her close.

"I love that you named me in your exclusive little list," he murmured richly.

"You're my family - my brother," Giulia sniffed, her eyes welling with tears that burned. Enzo sighed heavily.

"I love you, too," he rumbled in her ear, dipping his head to kiss her shoulder. He sighed, gazing out over the lake. "Caroline was right, you know. You are bored, and he does make you happy."

She gulped her tears down, but her lip trembled, and the tears fell, unbidden, her voice catching on a tiny squeak of uncertainty as she said, "I thought I was…doing the right thing, doing what she needed…"

"All she needs is you. It doesn't matter where you are." Enzo sighed, releasing her, and came to squat down in front of her. He cupped her face in his hands, tenderly wiping her tears away with his thumbs, his dark gaze sweeping over her face. "And I speak as one who knows; I don't care that we live in this tiny town, only that I live with you. I'd go anywhere, just to be with you." His lips quirked with irony. "Except perhaps the beach. You know how I detest sand in all the wrong places." She gave a tremulous laugh, sniffing, reaching up to wipe her eyes. Enzo gazed up at her solemnly. "Young as she is, I think Caroline overlooked the fact that you're not just here for Zita…you're here for Liz, and the Saltzmans, and Jeremy and Ashlyn, and Mason and Carol and Spencer, and Sheila and Bonnie, and Rose and Matt and all of the babies, all of the people who…one day…will no longer be here…" He spoke softly, sorrowfully; she still flinched, as if receiving a physical wound. He clasped her hands in one of his, rubbing her knee with the other comfortingly. His face was warm, open, sorrowful as he said, so tenderly, so heartbreakingly gently, "It's alright to want to keep hold of something that once brought you joy. Sometimes it's all we're left with, the memory of it, the hope that it might one day be repeated."

Giulia's lip trembled, and tears splashed down her cheeks. She sniffed, and confessed fiercely, "I love you, you know that?" She reached in for a hug, and Enzo embraced her fiercely.

"I do," he assured her, holding on as she sniffled, and calmed herself down in the safety of his embrace, his love. "I do, poppet…"


The banging continued. Someone was in danger of knocking the front-door off its hinges.

He drew the door open, startled by who he found on the porch. He blinked. She was radiant as ever, her pale-blonde hair shimmering around her shoulders, colour in her cheeks, her eyes bright. But she looked stunned, as if she hadn't quite been expecting him to answer the door - or hadn't been prepared to confront him if he did.

"Caroline? From the noise, I was expecting the townsfolk with torches and pitch-forks. Whatever is the matter?" Elijah asked, concerned. She looked…not herself; she lacked her usual composure. He gazed at her, his heart sinking. And he sighed, "You've heard about the job I've taken at Mystic Falls High School?"

"I have, but that's not even why I'm here" Caroline blurted curtly. "We're going for a drive."

"Ooh. I love pretty little things with sharp tongues," someone purred, Kol draping himself in the doorway beside Elijah. He sighed lustily, sweeping his eyes over Caroline. "When are you going to go out for drinks with me, Caroline?"

"Shut up, Kol," Caroline and Elijah snapped in unison. Caroline blinked from Kol to Elijah, a tiny frown appearing between her neat taupe eyebrows. She held his gaze sternly, and ordered him to, "Get in the car."

Her tone brooked no opposition. She turned on her heel and marched back toward her Jeep parked beyond the white picket-fence. Gyda, her chin perched on Kol's shoulder, raised her eyebrows in amusement, watching Caroline stride to her car.

Her eyes shining with irony, Gyda smirked, "You dare not refuse."

Elijah grimaced, but pulled the door to as he stepped out onto the porch. The sun was setting; the night-insects and birds were singing a twilight chorus, and he climbed into Caroline's Jeep, uncertain what the night would bring. He knew Caroline to be a go-getter, but even before, he had had little personal interaction with her. He had once told Caroline that Giulia had been tortured by a pack of werewolves - the same werewolves who had kidnapped and tormented Caroline mere weeks earlier - because he had been so concerned that Giulia refused to speak of it to anyone, even her best-friend.

Caroline drove them in silence through town, though not…he thought…with any particular destination in mind. They ended up, of all places, after twenty minutes of silence, overlooking the quarry.

Caroline stared at a pergola groaning with clematis, a small 'snack-shack' erected by the edge of the woods, and Elijah fidgeted uncomfortably as he recognised where they were. The boulders marked the area, but there were no longer scorch marks, dismembered bodies or bloodstains.

This was where Giulia had sacrificed her own life to protect her friends.

Caroline burst into tears.

Startled, Elijah cringed in his seat, staring, bewildered. What on earth had happened? He dug the handkerchief out of his jacket-pocket.

"This was not what I was expecting," he said coaxingly, passing the handkerchief to Caroline; she blurted a devastated laugh. "Here… Caroline, what has happened?" Dread suffused him. They were all waiting for some kind of nasty backlash from Hayley Marshall - Niklaus was still strung up Inquisition-style and therefore, not a threat to the human occupants of Mystic Falls - or even the more unique ones.

"I was mean to Giulia!" Caroline wailed, burying her face in his handkerchief as mascara streamed down her face. She hiccoughed, shuddering with the force of her sobs.

"You were mean to her?!" Elijah repeated, bewildered. Caroline coughed and spluttered, but wiped her face, and surfaced with a huge sigh, resting her head back against the headrest, propping her elbow by the window.

"It's just - it's not fair!" she whimpered softly, fresh tears streaking down her face and leaving translucent charcoal trails.

"I confess, I…I have no idea what is going on here, Caroline," he said gently. "Could you perhaps remain calm long enough to explain…then I could maybe join you in a meltdown of my own?"

Caroline gave a wet laugh. Her lip trembling, she sighed again. After a few moments of steady breathing, her eyes closed, she seemed to calm herself down. Long enough to wipe her face, collapse against her seat, and drop her head into her hands, elbows propped on the steering-wheel. Exhaustion, grief, seemed to leak from her.

Finally, she turned to Elijah. She looked exhausted, and hollow, grim.

"She thinks she'd be betraying him," she told Elijah, with a firmness in her tone as she added pointedly, "So you're going to have to fight for her."

Sat in Caroline's Jeep, with no escape, and no desire to pursue an alternative, Elijah sat and listened as Caroline betrayed her best-friend's confidence.

Caroline told him everything she knew about Giulia's marriage. About Fabian.

The man Giulia wouldn't quit, and wouldn't betray: The man Elijah would have to make her forget, if they ever wanted…everything together.

When she had finished, drained and upset, but calm, Elijah sighed softly, gazing out over the quarry. "Thank you for telling me all of this, Caroline…" It explained a lot of things, things he hadn't had the nerve to ask and things he knew Giulia had been tactfully avoiding having to address. "Why did you?"

"Because of…of Jesse," Caroline sniffed, her lower lip trembling. Her voice shook, but she didn't start crying, as she said, "I shouldn't have - I know…I've betrayed her trust by telling you her business. But I am so tired, and so sad, all of the time, and this…this is how she's been feeling for years and I can't stand that thought!" Caroline exclaimed, frustrated, and Elijah softened toward her. She had little guile; and she was deeply in touch with her emotions. She didn't shy from them, or conceal them. The emotion made Caroline Forbes. Her passion. "I want her to be happy. And she's not, not really. She is an exceptional mother to Zita, but she's not truly happy." Her eyes glinted with tears as she gazed imploringly at him, begging him, her voice tremulous, "Just make her happy."

Elijah gazed back at her, solemnity and heartbreak drenching him in sorrow, and hope - it had been a long time since he had seen devotion such as existed between Caroline Forbes and Giulia Salvatore. "I shall strive to do so, Caroline Forbes; that, I vow to you," he promised earnestly, taking her hand in his to kiss the back of it, holding her eye.

Caroline sniffed, wiping her eyes with her free hand. "Thank you."

"And would you, in turn, vow to warn me the next time you expect to burst into tears in front of me?" he asked teasingly, and Caroline choked on a shaky laugh. He teased her, "No exit, and with no drink in my hand?"

"Sure," she promised, sniffing delicately. He sighed, watching her. He sighed, and reached out to rub her back comfortingly as she leaned forward against the steering-wheel, hiding a faint blush that spoke of her rising embarrassment following her meltdown, a meltdown witnessed by him, a stranger.

"You've had a horrific time of it recently, haven't you?" he said gently, recalling the Lockwood cellar, and the news that Caroline's father had killed her vampire boyfriend - and hidden his body no-one knew where, denying her the closure of a funeral service.

Caroline laughed hollowly, admitting, "If I tell you I almost seriously considered taking Kol up on his offer for drinks…"

"Dear gods," Elijah said, with mock seriousness; Caroline's lips twitched. "Just - avoid Isak; he has a knack - he is a walking homing-beacon for exquisite women enduring sheer emotional devastation."

Caroline sighed heavily. "He seems like a lot of work…"

"You are not wrong," Elijah agreed grimly. "Thank you, Caroline."

"Do you want to know something?" she asked softly, gazing at Elijah. "If she had never un-daggered you, I think Giulia would've spent her life alone. My mom says she's too like her dad - Salvatores only fall in love once, and it's forever."

"Twice, in Giulia's case," Elijah said thoughtfully.

"Ever the overachiever," Caroline smiled warmly, and Elijah chuckled, gazing out at the quarry where Giulia had done the impossible, and evaded inescapable death.

Elijah sat quietly, as Caroline drove him back to the witch-house, reflecting that, in Caroline's mind…he was the person with whom Giulia had fallen irrevocably in love.

And more than that, Caroline not only accepted it - but actively supported their relationship, fought for it. Even when Giulia was reluctant, out of self-preservation, and complications, to do so herself.

Outside the white picket-fence, Elijah gently embraced Caroline across the centre-console. It was a small hug, but her smile was a little brighter as she drove away in the darkness.

"I think you made a friend tonight," Gyda observed from the porch, where she was sketching in the lamplight. Elijah groaned luxuriously as he sat down beside her, kicking up his feet on the ottoman before them, wrapping his arm around her slim shoulders.

"I had forgotten what a difference good people make to our lives," he said softly.

"You hadn't," Gyda replied, glancing up from her sketchbook. "However could we? They make all of this not only endurable but enjoyable… What was that about?"

"That…was a fair maiden sending me on a quest."

"Are you going to slay a dragon?"

"No… But I have been advised to mount one," Elijah said, and Gyda scoffed delicately, smirking.

"This was about Giulia," Gyda said, smiling indulgently. "I don't know how she'd feel, being compared to the dragon in this analogy."

"She'd say it's factually inaccurate; she does not, as far as she has yet experienced, breathe fire."


His smile was rich, warm, as he caught her eye across the crowded cocktail bar. She wove her way around little tables and waitresses bearing laden trays and leaned in to gently kiss Elijah on the cheek. He smelled divine, and looked relaxed, delicious, in dark jeans and a midnight-blue shirt with the top button undone, Elijah's equivalent of a centrefold.

"You're beautiful," he said softly, his dark gaze taking in her outfit. She wore her hair down in gentle waves that kissed her shoulder-blades; and a sleeveless, slightly clinging black knee-length dress with a plunging, draped V-neckline that highlighted the fact she wore no bra, layered gold necklaces glinting against her tanned skin to draw all eyes - including one of the pieces Elijah had designed as a gift for her, a nickel-sized, delicate amulet of gold and mother-of-pearl, a diamond set into the heart. The pendant gleamed against her tanned skin, the natural scent of her sun-warmed skin delicious, exquisitely paired with a customised perfume that made his senses soar.

"Thank you," Giulia blushed demurely. "I wasn't expecting you to call."

"I know it's late. Thank you for coming to meet with me, I know…you value your evenings," he said warmly, his gaze consuming her features. She appeared to wear little makeup, only a faint shimmer on her eyelids and delicate colour on her cheeks, a subtle sheen to her lips, her eyelashes long and luxurious, framing her mesmerising eyes. No-one would know she had had a fight with her best-friend mere hours ago; Elijah had called her after Caroline dropped her off, and she had agreed, surprising him, to meet for a drink within the hour.

"I do, but…today's Liz's night with Zita. She's Grandma," Giulia said, smiling warmly. "I think we're all trying to cram in some quality time before she starts preschool. Then everything changes."

"Are you prepared?"

"Not in the slightest," Giulia admitted, smiling apprehensively. They were waited upon by the bartender, settling on barstools with a little dish of salt-roasted almonds to nibble on while they waited, and talked, and for a good half-hour they spoke of Zita, and only Zita.

He decided he would no longer tiptoe around the issue. Caroline had provoked him to act: So, he would. "Giulia…why do you never speak of your husband? You wear your rings, but… I confess I'm curious about your…situation."

Giulia narrowed her eyes at him, setting her cocktail down slowly. Her eyes swept over his face, assessing, and her lips parted in realisation before she said, slowly, "You're not curious…you just want me to confirm what you know - did…did Caroline talk to you? About…?"

"She's concerned that you're unhappy," Elijah admitted sombrely. Giulia stared at him, appalled.

"She had no right to come you about that," she gasped, looking horrified, and she stammered when she said, "Wh-what, did she encourage you to what, press your claim?"

"Caroline may have phrased it a little more delicately," Elijah said apologetically. He sighed. "She's not the only one concerned about your loneliness."

Giulia stared at him, devastated. Her voice was choked with emotion as she asked, "Does everybody think the same?"

"They don't know what to think," he said softly. "And they will never understand. Giulia…"

She looked on the verge of tears. Perhaps he should have pushed to meet another evening. It was too soon, after her argument with Caroline. Her lip trembled, and she set her little clutch-bag on the bar, sagging in her seat.

"It wasn't a lie…when we got married, and we made our vows to each other - they were real, in that moment, and for a lot of them after…" Her eyes glowed with unshed tears, her lip trembling, and she gazed earnestly at Elijah, as if willing him to understand. "We dove headfirst without any thought to the consequences."

"I know the…pain - to love someone so fiercely, and for circumstances to keep you separated, no matter how much you might wish things to be different," Elijah said quietly, and Giulia gazed at him, her mind whirring behind those exquisite grey eyes.

Her voice was soft, devastated, when she whispered, "I love him…and he chose his visions over his love for me."

"Visions?" Caroline hadn't mentioned anything about visions

"Fabian is…a witch, he is ever-knowing," Giulia sniffed, taking a sip of her drink - for fortitude.

"Fabian?" Elijah frowned, something niggling in the back of his mind.

Giulia held his gaze, and said grimly, "Fabian Seydoux…you've heard of him."

His lips parted. "Yes, I have. You married him?"

Giulia gazed at the wall of liquor bottles, her expression soft, heartbroken, wistful. "I walked into a café in Paris and there he was…when he smiled, I sat down with him; he asked what had taken me so long?" She sniffed, smiling, but it faded too quickly. "A month later we eloped. Three years after that, I was pregnant and left him in Paris to pursue my PhD in New Orleans. He…did what he does." He had heard of Fabian Seydoux: Elijah knew what he got up to.

"Caroline tells me he has disappeared," Elijah said, and Giulia gave him a sharp look. "But you don't go after him?"

"He wouldn't thank me for interfering," Giulia said, and Elijah wondered if that had to hurt the worst - Giulia couldn't stay out of something if it affected the people she loved. She sighed softly. "We understand each other."

Elijah narrowed his eyes, scrutinising her expression, her body-language, everything left unsaid. "Ah…" he realised, "the game…"

"He can't play it with me in proximity…I'm a dead-zone for his visions," Giulia said hollowly, her elegant fingers curving the trace of her cocktail glass stem. "He can't…see me, unless he watches through other people's lives."

"But he can see you," Elijah guessed, and Giulia raised her eyes beseechingly to his as he said, "You don't wish to be disloyal."

"I hurt enough…and he deals with too much to hurt him, too…because I know the man he is beyond the magic. I know that man loves me…it's the endgame that consumes him," Giulia said, softly and sadly, but…accepting. Patient, calm, non-judgemental, not angry. Just…accepting. "I understand…I just… But I got Zita, so, you know, he gave me the greatest love of my life, I have the extraordinary privilege of being her mother because of Fabian."

Elijah sighed, propping his head on his hand, elbow on the bar as he gazed at Giulia, understanding more from her now than all of Caroline's well-meaning babble. He chose his words carefully, and knew she realised that he understood when he said, "There is nothing on this earth that can explain the complexities of a single marriage."

Giulia gazed back at him, and seemed to relax, as if, finally…someone did understand. There was no way she could explain, could quantify, could accurately put into words something so intimate, so unique…

Someone knocked into him, spilling his drink, and the sound of the hit reverberated through the cocktail bar. On impact, glass smashed beneath Giulia, alcohol splashing across the polished bar, and her cheekbone burned. She tasted blood where she had bitten the inside of her cheek on impact. Lights flickered in the back of her vision, and Giulia raised a hand tenderly to her cheek as the patrons of the bar hushed and whispered.

"That is for sticking your nose in my business!" Hayley Marshall hissed venomously, as Giulia straightened up, her rings glittering on her finger as she pressed her hand to her cheek, more startled that someone had gotten the drop on her than actually hurt, and, realising who it was, her initial surprise turned to something far more dangerous. Her shoulders straightened, pinned back, as cold rage suffused her body, tempered to a honed edge. Hayley was stood far too close, her face right up in Giulia's, her body-language aggressive - itching for a confrontation. Hayley's voice rose as she exclaimed, "You think I don't know you're behind Mason kicking me out?!"

Startled as she had been by the punch, Giulia stared her down, and a careful look from Elijah over Hayley's shoulder settled her, gentled the wild thundering of her heart, her instincts responding to the suggested threat, the possibility of attack - her body responded, readying for it, her fangs sharpening in her mouth. Hayley was so focused on Giulia, was focusing all her rage and shame and embarrassment on her, that she didn't realise she stood exposed to an Original vampire at her back.

"You shattered your son's arm," Giulia said, too quietly for anyone else to hear her. She stared Hayley down, unblinking, her expression so chilling that Elijah was reminded of what she had assured Spencer of, that night - that no-one was brave enough to provoke a fight with her. Her exquisite bone-structure was highlighted by the excruciatingly cold expression on her face, utterly devoid of anything but chilling menace that seemed to radiate from her silver-grey eyes, glowing like thunderclouds illuminated by a full-moon in the soft ambient lighting of the bar. To Hayley, to anyone else, the embodiment of their worst nightmares. To Elijah, she was glorious. "His skin was purple and black from the internal bleeding it caused when you crushed his ulna and radius to splinters."

Hayley's eyes glowed the amber and onyx of an enraged werewolf, but Giulia did not back down. She stood with her spine straight, chin level - holding her ground, far from cowering - she levelled Hayley with a lethal stare that would have sent a wiser person shuddering for cover… She was every inch an empress, elegant and unshakeable. Her heartbeat thundered in his ears and Elijah could scent it on the air - her body's reaction, the scent of her body preparing to shift as Giulia called it; she was reining it in, though, her adrenaline and aggression…

"I don't care who you think you are, he's my son, not yours, I'm gonna do whatever I have to, to be in his life," Hayley hissed snidely, at the same time threatening Giulia and backing down, angling her body away from Giulia, who stood still and upright as a statue, her expression so cold and so intense it could never be mistaken for anything other than predatory. "Do you understand me?"

Giulia's voice was calm, her Virginia accent less pronounced - there was a soft bite of Englishness to her tone, souvenir of her time at Central Saint Martins and proximity to Enzo, with the softness of an accent that came from speaking primarily Italian with her daughter and Enzo when they were at home. Her voice was soft, low, and deceptively calm, almost gentle. "Understand me, Hayley…you live because I allow it." Her eyes clouded, ever so briefly, with the barest hint of warning that made Hayley shudder, as onyx flooded the intense silvery orbs, blacking out the whites of her eyes - entirely onyx, wholly eerie, glowing and mesmerising and spine-tingling. She seemed to radiate strange power that made the fine hairs on the back of Elijah's neck prickle up in warning - something he had rarely experienced in centuries except when in proximity to incredibly dangerous witches. "My love for Spencer is the only reason you draw breath. I wouldn't advise you cause any more nastiness to upset his life."

"What're you gonna do, kill me?" Hayley snapped snidely, her foolish bravado staggering.

Giulia swept her now-silver eyes over Hayley, from her head to her toes and back; she made no effort to hide her disdain, her dislike. She looked…tired, Elijah thought, as if she had been mentally preparing for this altercation for too long that finally having it was almost a relief, shedding a burden. Elijah remembered Spencer in the hospital; he remembered Giulia, chained and pinned to the chair in the library, bleeding and broken - and had to rein himself in. "You've been living on borrowed time for far too long. Mason…Spencer…they've kept you alive. And you betrayed them."

"He's my son!" Hayley growled, but it came off as petulant, whiny.

"And he's deathly afraid of you. He ran away from home, long past midnight, with his arm crushed…and he came to me - because he knew he'd be safe," Giulia said, the sorrow in her voice making Elijah's heart hurt. "You are unworthy of them. And you know it. And that is what kills you. You know this was not my fault. There is no-one else to blame."

"I won't let you get away with this!" Hayley hissed. "They're my family."

She swung at Giulia a second time.

Deftly, calling on all her historic training, seamlessly and elegantly as a dancer, Giulia deflected, pinning Hayley's arm behind her back at a dangerous angle. An ounce of pressure and Giulia could splinter her shoulder, snap the bones of her arm cleanly.

"Not anymore," Giulia murmured in Hayley's ear. She said sadly, "You forfeited that privilege. You're going to leave, now. I will not have this conversation again."

Still pinning Hayley's arm, she escorted Hayley out of the bar, ignoring the whispers and shocked, embarrassed laughter and mutters of the other patrons watching them like hawks. A few had their phones out, videoing the altercation, disappointed nothing more dramatic happened. Elijah signalled the bartender for a fresh round of drinks as Giulia sauntered back, neatly dusting off her hands, looking superbly indifferent: But only Elijah could scent the tension and simmering rage and hurt that seeped from her skin like a perfume. It radiated from her as she perched on her barstool, and her smile was tense as she accepted her refreshed cocktail from the bartender.

"That was elegantly handled," he said carefully, reaching out to rest a hand on her thigh; she placed hers over the top, squeezing gently - appreciative, communicating more than words with a simple touch.

"Thank you," Giulia said graciously, and Elijah sipped his cocktail, gazing at her. As she raised her glass, something new glinted on her finger, the fit not quite perfect. She saw him looking at it, and slipped it off her hand, passing the band to him.

"Very unique," he murmured, frowning thoughtfully.

"Redwood and raw hecatolite, bound by twenty-four karat gold," Giulia said regretfully, as Elijah turned toward a candle, the better to examine the details. The candlelight made the moonstone glow, but the redwood was dull, the gold scratched. Inside the band, both gleamed: Constant removal had polished them.

"This is a wedding-ring," Elijah said, raising his eyes to Giulia's. "Hayley's."

"Spelled by a witch to protect her from the sway of the full-moon," Giulia said distantly.

"A priceless gift."

"My wedding-gift," Giulia said, and Elijah understood: She had reclaimed the wedding-ring, and the protection it had granted.

Instead of letting Hayley goad her into a fight, instead of killing her outright as honour could demand as recompense for the hideous abuse of her son - Giulia had taken the one thing protecting Hayley from her own nature. She could no longer luxuriate in the protection from her agonising monthly transformations.

That was a far more deserving punishment for what Hayley had done than a swift and merciful death. And Giulia had no part in her ongoing torture: Hayley had created the most exquisite punishment for herself the moment she first triggered her werewolf curse. All Giulia had to do was strip Hayley of her protection; Nature would do the rest. Giulia had turned exquisite, passive-aggressive torture into artistry.

But she wasn't happy: She wasn't luxuriating in Hayley's humiliation, or smirking, scheming… She was upset, she was unsettled - as much by their conversation before Hayley had shown up as Hayley's physical assault and aggression toward her. The tension radiated, and her eyes glinted with a strange, beguiling mixture of confusion, dread, pain, wistfulness, anger, devastation and hope.

Elijah sighed, and set down his empty glass. "We have exhausted this place. Will you indulge me?"

Her tiny smile was relieved, and she finished her drink, eyeing him curiously. She allowed herself to follow blindly.

An hour later, Giulia meandered out of the luxurious ash-panelled locker-room in cropped black yoga-pants, a diaphanous black t-shirt and her soft black Skechers, fiddling with the hairbands on her wrist. A small, converted barn at the Boarding House boasted its own boxing-gym and separate, air-conditioned weight-room. With crisp white walls, exposed beams and reclaimed doors, it was atmospheric and, most importantly, private. They had locked everyone else out, but left the external barn doors wide open, tempting a natural breeze and the sound of the cicadas.

She stopped dead at the sight that greeted her, jaw dropping.

"Bare arms?!" she choked, blinking dazedly at Elijah, who smirked over his shoulder. He wore sweatpants, sneakers and a sleeveless black t-shirt that highlighted his tanned, muscled arms to perfection, his Viking armband glinting on his wrist. "Warn a girl!"

"Where's the fun in that?" Elijah purred, enjoying her reaction. Giulia raised an eyebrow. He smirked, eyeing her hands, where she fiddled with her hairbands. "How long since you sparred properly?"

"By 'properly', do you mean with someone stronger and more skilled than myself?" Giulia asked, and he indicated she turn around; she did, and smiled to herself, allowing a soft sigh of indulgence as his fingers threaded through her thick hair, massaging her scalp ever so briefly before he parted her hair into two sections, and deftly but tenderly wove the first into a neat, raised Dutch braid. He was a father, after all, and had had many lovers over the centuries; he would know how to braid hair after a thousand years!

"I do. How long since you truly allowed yourself to let go?" Elijah asked, noticing how Giulia seemed to preen like a cat under his hands, as if she had been starved for physical touch. "To let out your aggression and anger?"

"You saw me tonight, how long do you think?" Giulia murmured.

"By the way you held yourself back earlier…you're too well-practiced in maintaining control under pressure, in spite of your instincts warring against you. I could scent you, your…shift; your body recognised the threat Hayley posed, but you kept your composure," Elijah said thoughtfully, neatly braiding the second section of hair. He tapped her wrist gently with his free hand, and she surrendered the last hairband, knotting her braid in place. Tenderly, he pressed his hands to her head, neatening the braids, and brushed his hands over the coiled braids before resting his hands on her shoulders. He rested his chin on her shoulder, gazing at her profile, and she softened, relaxing ever so slightly, her warmth searing to him as they stood so close. He took in the elegant slope of her nose, the sweet plumpness of her lips, and the sweep of her long, fine black eyelashes, so startling against her glacial grey eyes. He whispered in her ear, making her shudder, "You're going to explode." She stumbled, off-balance, as he gripped her hips and gently tugged, toward the boxing-ring; he turned and climbed inside.

"We're going to play?" she asked, raising her eyebrows, and realising she had sounded utterly breathless.

"I have been in a box for a decade; I should like the chance to shed some of the rust," he said, making a show of warming up his arm muscles, smirking as her eyes home in, and she groaned, biting her lower lip.

"Don't flirt with me," she warned sombrely, climbing into the ring, and Elijah grinned, already bouncing on his toes, taunting her to attack with a wave of his fingers.

She had forgotten. Forgotten how it felt to play with Elijah. How his face lit up as they sparred; how they egged each other on, goaded each other playfully; how their sparring built in intensity the longer they went at it, the thrill that came from it. They sparred, hand-to-hand at first, trying to catch each other out, playful - and when that was exhausted, they slipped seamlessly into wresting, every move methodical and tactical - and physical…every hold, their bodies were pressed against each other, every manoeuvre, their hands lingered, their breathing synchronised as their wrestling and grappling took on a dance, their bodies entwined, constantly shifting dominance.

Each time he got the upper-hand, he'd playfully swat her on the backside - or press a hot kiss against her neck while she was pinned in his grasp, limbs entangled. Even a hand lingering on her stomach made her heart stutter. Hot, sweaty, exhilarated, she knew she was smiling, enjoying herself, as they sparred again, dancing, evading each other's embrace even as they fought to coil themselves around each other - and flirted, suggestive and exquisite as they tried to jolt each other's concentration to gain the upper-hand by being as naughty as they wanted.

She got the drop on him, sweeping his legs from under him; she had one thigh pinned beneath her knee, his wrists pinned against the mat with her hands, panting, sweaty, delight coursing through her veins as she gazed down at him; he grinned up at her, a chuckle rumbling richly from deep in his chest as she murmured breathlessly, "I warned you not to flirt with me."

He smiled up at her, luxuriating in the feeling of her straddling his hips, panting and sweaty and happy, her braids tousled, her cheeks flaming with colour, her tanned skin shimmering with sweat, smiling down at him as if every care was forgotten. He chuckled, leaning up. His wrists were pinned, but he could still nuzzle her jaw with his nose, then nip her chin delicately, before chancing one, lingering, breathless kiss…she melted into it, instead of tensing; she released his wrists, slid into his lap, and let him cup the back of her neck to draw her closer, deepening the kiss, unable to stop himself flexing his hips beneath hers, breathing in her tiny gasping moan as she wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him up off the floor.

"My, my, I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Giulia jolted. Elijah stifled a growl as he pressed his forehead against her shoulder, holding onto her waist tightly, as Giulia shifted in his lap and gawped.

"Damon?!"

Elijah peeked from her shoulder, following her gaze. Indeed, Damon Salvatore stood, draped against the ropes, smirking in all his glory, silver-eyed, inky-haired and insufferable. Elijah had almost missed his self-destruction and his sardonic candor.

Giulia groaned, "You've gotta be kidding me."

"Hello, Giulia," Damon smirked luxuriously, his eyes roving over them, lips twitching as they rested where Giulia straddled Elijah's lap.

"Impeccable timing, as ever, Damon," Elijah said sardonically, tucking Giulia's braids back over her shoulders, and Damon blinked, a little stunned.

"Elijah? Gotta confess, I honestly didn't even recognise you without the Savile Row," Damon said, eyebrows rising. "Nice haircut."

"Thank you," Elijah smirked, aware that Giulia's eyes followed his bare arm as he raised it to push his hair out of his eyes. She seemed a little dazed, and had to shake herself. His lips twitched, and he hid his smirk.

"Bare arms and sweatpants?" Damon sighed, splaying his arms on the ropes, clicking his tongue. "Has Hell frozen over?"

"You're back in town so it must be getting chillier," Giulia retorted. She didn't climb out of Elijah's lap, in fact she subtly moved her hips over him…they were still sparring, still using whatever they could to get the upper-hand. He reached covertly to pinch the back of her thigh, making her eyes glint.

"You know, when I okayed the renovation, I thought you meant a splash of paint, maybe some new rugs - not putting me out of my own home!" Damon exclaimed, eyeing them as if he knew exactly what was going on.

"'Okayed' the renovation?!" Giulia scoffed, gaping at her great-grandfather. She had informed him as a courtesy. "Whose home was it?"

"You purposely didn't tell me about turning this place into a hotel," Damon accused her. True. She shrugged delicately, still enjoying straddling Elijah's lap, as he watched them both with an ironic little smile flirting on his lips - enjoying another family's dysfunction.

"You were unreachable," Giulia said reasonably. "Only one person in the world knew how to contact you."

Damon gawped incredulously. "That was you!" he cried indignantly. "Where are my watches?"


A.N.: Sometimes I amaze myself; I certainly had no idea this chapter was going to be the rollercoaster it became!