The Mikaelson clan opened the front door of their mansion anticipating smells of arousal and sex. It surprised them to instead, smell a savory scent that drifted from the kitchen. Each following another down the halls of the house, they listened as Elena's laughter and chuckles from Elijah echoed throughout.

Each sibling took in the picture in front of them, Elijah at the stove cooking an array of Italian foods as Elena stood across the island counter, cutting a fresh ball of mozzarella cheese, gazing happily at their brother. It surprised all three of the Mikaelsons not see the couple in a compromising position or snogging each other's faces off. The three had imagined with their alone time, the pair would use it to their advantage.

"Welcome home," Elena said, acknowledging their presence with a warm smile.

"Well, this is not the picture I imagined to see," Klaus smirked.

Rebekah also felt a bit baffled. "Me either, honestly."

"Did you two not get down to it?" Kol wondered in pure curiosity.

Elena raised an eyebrow and the happiness that was splayed across Elijah's face dropped slightly.

"That was not my intent for our evening last night," Elijah said with pursed, unhappy lips. He didn't want Elena getting any wrong ideas of his intentions for the date he had planned.

"-but if you must know. We did. And now we are done with this topic," Elena cut in. She knew what had occurred between them was bound to happen and she was happy that it finally did – with all the siblings gone and out of the house especially. But now that everyone was home, she wanted a night of peace. She didn't want her last days at this wonderful house to be ones filled with arguing amongst siblings or getting on poor Elijah's nerves. For once, she just wanted a night that they all could look back on and hang on to. A night of normalcy.

Klaus held in a snicker at his brother's daggering looks. Teasing him would be just too easy right now. Coming over, he clapped Elijah on the shoulder and took in the array of cooking his brother was doing. "Well, good for you then."

Grabbing a spoon, Klaus then took a tasting of the sauce Elijah was making and gave a small scowl. "No, you're doing it wrong." The sauce tasted bland and weak. Had his brother not spent enough time in Italy? "Here, give it to me."

Elijah handed over the spoon and moved from the stove, watching his brother take over. Klaus added a few spices and salt, resampling it moments later.

"So, how was our older brother then? A good shag?" Kol asked waggling his eyebrows as he went to go take a slice of fresh cheese from the cutting board in front of Elena, before sitting down next to her.

"Kol!" Rebekah scolded, hitting her brother's arm. "Don't answer that," she told Elena sternly as she came to stand near the island as well.

"I wasn't going to," Elena muttered back with an eye roll aimed at Kol.

"Oh come on. What's some good gossip between lads? I have heard the ladies over the centuries marvel at Elijah's talents in bed. It fathoms me though that such a stick in the mud could give any woman pleasure…"

"Ew, Kol!" Rebekah's face shriveled in disgust and she hit her brother once more.

The statement made Elena both blush and shift with insecurity. She knew Elijah was centuries old and had years of experience, she just hadn't ever given much thought as to how much.

"Is it the whole gentlemanly thing? Is that what tickles women inside?" Kol asked with a fist under his chin, making Elena wonder if he was being mocking or not. Regardless, the thought of Elijah with other women was unsettling to her, and it didn't help any with Kol's badgering with very personal questions.

"That's enough Kol," Elijah said sternly, glancing over to an uncomfortable looking Elena. Elena's eyes stayed shifted downcast. He could tell her self-doubt about their sexual activities were beginning to rise.

There was a soft pause in conversation and Elena took that moment to regain her composure. "So, where were you?" she asked, turning to face Rebekah.

"Off getting a bite to eat," the blonde spoke nonchalantly with a shrug. Reaching over, Rebekah grabbed a piece of bread to try, only to catch the look of concern Elena was giving her.

Rolling her eyes, Rebekah gave an insulted huff. "Don't worry, I didn't kill anyone for it."

"And you?" Elena wondered to Kol.

"Earning some quick cash," Kol replied with a smile as he pulled out a huge wad of bills. "even got the old man's pink slip," he said pulling out the title to a car.

"Street racing, really Kol?" Rebekah asked with an eye roll. He was always one for cheap thrills. And it didn't help any that he had taken the car before she left the house, leaving her to run into town on foot.

Elena let the siblings quarrel, hoping they'd get it all out of their system by the time dinner was served. Watching them shove one another, laugh and tease one another made Elena think of Jeremy. It would only be a few days before she was to see him again. She wondered if it would be how they used to be or if he would be mad at her for leaving and being gone so long.

"Elena?" Rebekah wondered, putting a hand on her shoulder. The room had gone quiet and everyone was looking at her concerned.

"What? Sorry." Elena tried to shake off everyone's stares.

"I asked what you wanted to drink."

"Oh, just an ice tea is fine, thanks," she smiled to Rebekah. Shaking off her undealt feelings of her family back home, she rubbed her arms and glanced to Klaus. He was still busy cooking at the stove, perfecting his sauce.

"Klaus," Elena called, still trying to ignore the stares and Elijah's gaze on her. "Did you want to take more of my blood?"

Elijah stood by, unsettled. "Elena," he said cautiously. While he wouldn't stop her from helping to fulfill his brother's wishes because she asked him not to, it didn't mean he liked it. It didn't help any either that her mind was elsewhere and wasn't meeting his eyes.

Elena waited patiently for Klaus to say something, though, Klaus just stood facing her, eyebrow raised and a smirk growing on his face. He could tell how unhappy Elijah was becoming and the tension that was growing in the room made him all the happier.

"Klaus," Elena snapped. She wasn't in the mood for games. Actually, her mood was becoming sour and the idea of a happy peaceful evening was fading fast.

Klaus put his hands up in surrender and walked away from the stove. Nodding over to the hall, he walked with Elena to the study, grabbing another silver case with all the medical supplies.

"Go ahead and take a seat," he said nodding over to the chair.

Elena took a seat as instructed and rolled up her sleeve making her vein available for him.

"I must say, I was surprised you offered again. I was going to let you off the hook for tonight and grab some from you tomorrow."

Elena watched as he cleaned the area and grabbed the long thin needle. "I said I'd do it for the two days. I keep my word." She hissed when the needle went under her skin and watched as the blood flowed through the small tube and in the blood bag.

Klaus and Elena sat in silence for a few moments, watching as her blood filled the donation bag.

"Are you ready to go home?" Klaus wondered to her.

His voice seemed serious, void of teasing or jabs. "Are you?" Elena wondered. She was nowhere near ready and she had a feeling Klaus wasn't all too ready either. While everyone could assume they were both ready and itching to go back, Mystic Falls brought many problems as well.

Klaus stayed silent, making Elena's hunches about his own feelings correct.

"I'm afraid…of everything – everyone. As much as I want to return, it all seems so impossible."

"You've been gone for a long time."

It was a response Elena was surprised to hear. She wasn't sure what to expect, but a statement that she could actually agree and bond to was not what she thought he would say to her. "How do you do it? Go back to something so familiar when everything has changed?"

Klaus rubbed his face and looked down at his hands. It was a difficult question to answer.

"It's best not to hang onto the people and the ties you've shared with others. You're a stranger now, Elena. An outsider."

Elena swallowed hard, not liking such an answer. She didn't want to be a stranger to her loved ones. They were so much more than that to her.

"Everything will be the same," Klaus said moving to change blood bags. "But only to you."

"Does it ever get better?" Elena's voice shook and she was angry at herself for letting her voice quiver in front of Klaus.

Klaus looked at Elena in the eye. "No."

Silence fell amongst them again, this time with Elena deep in thought.

"Why?" Klaus finally asked, breaking the silence. It startled Elena.

"I'm sorry?"

"Why do all of this? Why risk your life? Why…. for us? I know what you've told Rebekah, but there must be more to it. What you are doing Elena – what you have done with Elijah and you still choose to do for us- "

"I know," she sighed.

"You can't tell me after spending a night with Elijah that you are still considering going home and risking your life for us vampires."

"I am," she said putting a piece of gauze to her needle mark as he slipped the needle from her skin. "as much as I'm realizing I don't want to go home, I'm also making a deal with your mother."

"to die."

"Possibly," she said with a sigh. "I don't really know what she has in store for me. Being the doppelgänger though, I can't imagine that she would just kill me."

Elena stared at Klaus. If she knew any better, it looked as if he was feeling guilty. "Your mother needs me. For whatever she has planned. I know you all think it is a death sentence, but for as many times you all came after me for being a doppelgänger, it is about the same with your mother."

"And Elijah?" Klaus wondered. He took space from her, leaning against the backside of the library desk to face her.

"What about him?"

"Oh, come on," Klaus laughed to Elena. "You two shag and that's it? You can't possibly tell me he's okay with this."

"Of course, he isn't. None of us are okay with this, but we don't have many options here." Elena paused, deciding to share something with him.

"You've taken many people I've loved away from me, Klaus. I've lost more people in the last few years than many have in a lifetime. And it takes so much for me to get up in the morning sometimes, as I have to face every person I've lost."

She sighed. "It's exhausting to wake up and feel like you've lost yourself, to continue to fight and remind yourself of who you are, even without the people who loved you and you loved back. I am caught between leaving Elijah and loving him. I carry all of this pain inside me – all this loss. And maybe that's why I'm not afraid of what your mother may do to me. Because it's only to me. It's not to Jeremy or Caroline or Bonnie. It's me. And she can't do anything more to me than what you or everyone else has taken from me. But I do love Elijah. And as much as the dark feelings plague me sometimes, leaving him means I become a cause of his pain. He would be left with the same feelings I fight every time I wake up and start my day."

Glancing at Klaus, she found he was expressionless. "How could I do such a thing to him?"

Slowly she got up from her seat and rolled her sleeve down. "So, you're right. We have sex and that's it, because I love him and I want to keep loving him. And your mom won't ruin that for me or for him. But in order for that to happen, I have to keep him safe. I have to keep moving, which in turn, means I have to keep fighting. I don't do it for you. I do it because of Elijah and the ones I love. I want everyone to have so much more. You all deserve to have lives that are more than just…fighting with one another all of the time."

"Elena," Klaus called when she went to leave the room. "I'm sorry I took so much from you."

Elena swore her head went fuzzy when his apology hit her ears. But she didn't dare show it. Instead she kept her back to him and attempted to find some composure. She wasn't sure what to say in that moment. Thank you? While she was appreciative of the apology, it didn't bring Jenna back. It didn't help Tyler losing Jules. Instead, she nodded to him and went on her way.

It was a long night, one that actually went fairly well. When Elena and Klaus returned from the study, dinner and the siblings were waiting for them. Elijah pulled up a chair for Elena, motioning for her to sit. And it all went smoothly. Everything was delicious and Elena had to admit the sauce that Klaus had been perfecting was the most amazing thing she had ever tasted. If she were being honest, she would probably crave it.

After a long night of chatter and drinks and games, Elena called it a night, wishing everyone sleep before the long days ahead. They'd be leaving the house tomorrow, the peace and solitude with it. While walking up the steps to her room, Elena wondered how it would be with four originals in one car.

A knock on her door a bit later made her look up from her suitcase. She was having a hard time packing the rest of her things before morning.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Elijah wondered with a hand in his pocket and his other with knuckles still to her door.

"I- just… I can't believe we are leaving tomorrow," she spoke nervously while moving hair from her face. She looked down at her bag and attempted to ignore the growing pit in her stomach.

"You're nervous," Elijah stated while walking in the room towards her.

Elena let out a nervous laugh. "Something like that."

A finger grazed under the tip of her chin and tilted her face upward. Her eyes met Elijah's and the nerves multiplying in her stomach slowed. "Talk to me, Elena."

Staring in his eyes, she felt herself get lost for a while. He was this stature of calm that Elena hadn't realized she needed. He wasn't rattled with fear or anxiety like she was. And if he was, he wasn't showing it. It made him both exactly what she needed and yet why she didn't want to talk to him. She wasn't sure if he could understand.

Elijah waited for her. He watched as she opened and closed her mouth a few times, but words never seemed to escape her. He wondered why. Part of him worried it was because of what Kol had said earlier, but with how the rest of the night went, he couldn't imagine that it was still bothering her. She had been fine through dinner and the late-night chatter.

"Just…hold me, okay?" She asked him, breaking his thoughts.

He felt her before he had a chance to react. She buried her face against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. The warmth of her body radiated off on to him, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her like she asked, kissing the top of her head.

They stayed like that for a long while. There was a point where he felt his shirt get wet, and he realized it was Elena's tears making their way through his fabric. He had tried to pull back to ask her what the matter was, but she wouldn't let him. Instead she held onto him tighter, not letting him see her cry.

"Elena," he breathed, wishing to take away or discuss any hurt that she was feeling.

"I just-…" she croaked. Pulling away Elena looked to her suitcase and back at him. Elijah brought his hand up, using his thumb to wipe her tears from her cheeks. "I'm terrified to leave and return home."

Elijah wished he could say something of comfort but the guilt of his mother being responsible for all of this haunted him. Feeling her push away from him, he swallowed hard and pushed away his own growing emotions aside.

"I'm going to see Jeremy again," Elena said with a small relieved laugh. Tears pooled in her eyes. "And while I'm so happy, I'm also so scared he is going to hate me. I-" Her hand went through her hair and she moved away from Elijah to pace the floor. "I have no idea what's going to happen. I don't think it will ever be the same. And I know that, I'm trying to be okay with that. But…I don't want that! I want- I…I don't even know what I want! I just, everything and everyone has to be okay! Why is that so hard?"

Elijah stayed silent, letting her let all the pent-up emotions out.

"Everything is so messed up! And I don't want to be a stranger, even though I know that's what I am to everyone now. I'm alone. I left Jeremy alone. I'm…I'm all alone and I-…I've done this before. I've done this dance when my parents died and I don't want to do it again. It was too hard. It was one of the hardest things I've had to do and it took me so long to get back from it-"

Elijah listened to her every word. He knew it was a lot for her, but once she brought up her parents and being alone, he decided to stop her.

Grabbing her by the waist, he caught her eyes with his and ran a hand through her hair, keeping his hand in place so that his palm would cup the side of her face. "You'll get through this, Elena," he told her. "You're not alone. You have me. I'll be here with you too. I won't let you go through any of this alone."

He watched as doubt casted over her face, and he wished he could say something more reassuring.

"You'll have me too," Rebekah called, standing in the doorway to Elena's room.

"And me!" Kol called, speeding inside Elena's room.

"Count me in as well, love," Klaus said, walking slowly over with his hands behind his back to stand next to Rebekah in the doorway.

Tears slipped down Elena's face and Elijah caught them with his thumb. "See? You may feel alone, and it may seem like that especially when you return home, but you aren't Elena. You still have a family. You have us. We will help you get through this."

Elena stood up on her tip toes and gave Elijah a large hug. Hearing her mutter, 'thank you' in his shoulder, Elijah nodded to his siblings and watched as they dissipated their own ways.

"I love you Elena Gilbert," Elijah smiled to her as she pulled back to face him again.

"And I love you Elijah Mikaelson," she smiled back before kissing him.

Their lips parted with one another, meeting and molding against one another softly.

"Now," Elijah hummed when they parted from the kiss. "Let's finished getting you packed, shall we?"

Elijah helped Elena finish packing and get ready for bed. As he waited for her to emerge from the bathroom, he tossed the decorative bed pillows to the floor. A flair of passion arose inside him as he thought of their pleasures from earlier, wishing to hear Elena moan his name once more.

His reverie broke when he heard the bathroom door open and Elena emerge.

"What?" Elena asked with a smile as she halted in place after catching Elijah looking down at the bed. He held a large decorative pillow in hand, staring at her as she exited the bathroom, eyes now scanning her body.

She read him and his body language, slowly catching on to his thoughts and wishes. "No," she laughed. "No, no, no. Your siblings are home and we need sleep!" she scolded with a laugh. Dashing over, she grabbed the pillow from his hands and tossed it aside. "We are sleeping!"

She threw back the covers and went to get in bed. Settling in, she waited for Elijah to get comfortable before shutting off the light. She heard him sigh and pull her close. "Are you pouting?" Elena laughed propping herself up with her elbow before glancing back at him.

It took Elijah a moment before answering. "Maybe a little bit."

His answer brought Elena into a fit of giggles, even more so when Elijah laid on his back rolling his eyes.

"I'm sorry," she chuckled, frowning her lips a bit and laying her chin on his chest. Scooting upwards, she planted a kiss on his lips and ran a hand through his hair. "I love you, and I love when we have sex, but I'm still not comfortable doing it while your vampire siblings are around to hear. And I'm sure they would appreciate that too."

"I know," Elijah grumbled, his hand coming up and playing with a lock of her hair. "And I love you too."

Elena smiled and pecked his lips once more. "Good." Moving to lay back down she grinned as he came close to spoon her from behind. He wrapped his arm tightly around her waist and nuzzled his face against her neck. Together, they breathed slowly, holding each other in a snug embrace before falling asleep