December 24, 2020
She surveyed the ballroom in stolen glances between the dips and twirls when she had no choice but to look away from her new husband.
Husband.
Her gorgeous, brilliant husband.
Kol Mikaelson was her husband.
Given the choice she'd rather look at him than the masterpiece her best friends had somehow, against all odds, pulled off, but she had to admit they did an amazing job stringing up fairy lights with just the right amount of tulle.
All of her family, which admittedly wasn't much, was gathered around. Uncle John had not been happy about her wedding that to him came out of nowhere, but as she told him he was not her father, and truthfully he was hardly her uncle. Aunt Jenna took the news better and was even smiling and laughing in the corner with Elijah. And Jeremy had always been supportive.
Their small, tasteful, wedding came together easily.
Too easily.
"Do you think we'd get away with sneaking off early?" Kol twirled her into his arms. "I have a feeling the ease of planning is going to fly off when we get to speeches."
"I have a feeling you're eager to get me into bed, husband," she whispered.
"I have a feeling you're eager as well," his hand slid down her hip to rest dangerously low.
"Caroline would kill us," she drew her bottom lip into her mouth.
"As long as she kills us in the morning," he winked. "Then I can die a happy man."
"You really think Caroline would wait that long to enact revenge?" She laughed.
He chuckled and kissed her soundly.
"In conclusion," Caroline held up her glass, gesturing it towards the couple, "I despise you both for springing a wedding on me with less than two months to plan during the Christmas season and if you ever get divorced know that I will find you and murder you violently with an ax."
A round of laughter rose up.
"Is that your way of wishing us a long and happy life together?" Kol hugged Elena's waist. Every few minutes she would shift slightly and he'd smile, knowing exactly what was causing her 'discomfort'.
Caroline tipped up her glass again. "Yes Kol, but since I just went through the craziest month and a half of my life it is also a genuine threat."
"I have a question," Elena said, sipping her champagne, "what if he drives me absolutely crazy, and one day I just snap?"
"If that happens I'll help you kill him and hide the body where nobody will find him," she nodded decisively, "but you're never getting divorced."
"They're never getting divorced," Freya shook her head and grinned. Digging into her handbag she took out a tiny remote and pressed a single button that lit up a small projector. "I mean really, this was a vow renewal if anything."
A couple of pictures flashed onto the far wall.
"Oh, wow," Elena leaned into Kol's embrace, "you took pictures of that?"
"I had to," Freya shrugged, "it was my baby brother's wedding, and it was adorable."
"What exactly are we looking at?" Jeremy leaned on the table.
"You're looking at our first wedding," Elena smiled from ear to ear. "I was five at the time and Rebekah declared we had to have a wedding, and since the only boys around at that moment were her brothers I got to be the bride and wear her frilly white dress with all the bows."
"It looks like my dress," Hope declared, standing on her chair to hold out her white skirt.
"It did look a bit like your dress, sweetheart," Klaus nodded. "Someone remind me. How did you get Kol roped into that? He was seven years old and girls had cooties."
"It was something about a lamp and Esther," Elena thought back.
"I broke her favourite lamp," he nodded, "that really ugly green thing I think she bought in the sixties. Bex, over there, threatened to tell mother. So I had to put on my best Sunday suit and we got married in the yard by the fountain."
"If you already got married, why'd you do it all again?" Hope threw up her hands and looked at all of the adults like they were the strangest creatures she had ever seen.
"Well, legally speaking, our first marriage wasn't recognized," Kol smiled.
"Also there was a fair bit of coercion involved," Elena's eyes darted to Rebekah. The blonde hid her grin by taking a drink of champagne.
"Rebekah made you two kiss, do you remember?" Freya clapped her hands.
"I remember that he wiped it off and said 'yuck'," Elena smirked.
"I doubt he's wiping off your kisses now," Caroline smirked.
"That I do not," Kol winked before catching Elena's lips in a kiss.
"Eww!" Hope wrinkled her nose.
"Could you two keep your hands off each other long enough to make it to the honeymoon?" Klaus rolled his eyes.
"Don't be ridiculous Nik," he kissed Elena's cheek, "we don't fly out until boxing day."
"Then I beg of you both, retire," Finn adjusted his son on his knee when he dove off Sage's lap.
"Well if you insist," Kol smirked, hopping to his feet.
"Once a king, always a king, once a night is enough," Klaus murmured, lifting his glass.
"Oh it'll be more than once," he offered his blushing bride a hand up to the snickers of their family and friends.
"Keep it clean Kol, there are children present," Caroline crossed her arms.
"What will be more than once?" Hope turned her blue eyes on her father.
"Now it's definitely time for the honeymoon," Kol declared. Bending at the waist he hoisted Elena into his arms.
"Kol," she squealed, wrapping her arms around his neck. She managed to get in a quick goodnight before he carried her out of the room and up the stairs.
"What will be more than once?" Hope repeated, dropping to sit in her chair. "Where are they going? What are auntie Elena and uncle Kol going to do? It's too early to sleep."
Caroline delighted for a second in Klaus' lost expression before coming to his aid with the first thought she could come up with.
"They're going to jump on a trampoline and see how high they can get."
"Oh," Hope nodded, accepting the explanation with the innocence of a three, almost four, year old. Though Caroline was starting to wonder how many of their coded sentences were registering as coded when the child's next sentence came the second Klaus took a drink.
"I like trampolines."
Water spewed across the table into Elijah's face.
December 25, 2020
Everybody was sleeping and it wasn't right.
It just wasn't right.
It's like they didn't know there were presents to open.
So she was perfectly justified in running into daddy's bedroom and jumping on his bed. Perfectly justified was something Uncle Elijah taught her. It meant that it was okay to do something you knew you normally shouldn't do because you had a really good reason for it.
Presents were a good reason.
Presents were an excellent reason.
Auntie Freya taught her excellent.
Besides, daddy was always up early.
She scrambled atop the bench at the end of the bed, tiptoed between the lumps under the blanket and started jumping.
"Wake up, wake up, wake up," she sang. "It's Christmas! Wake up!"
She jumped and screeched and waved her arms until she fell.
"We're awake," daddy said. His voice was low. He sounded like he was asleep.
"Nuh uh," Hope shook her head. She turned and pushed at the second lump in the bed. "Wake up," she dragged out the word as she shook.
"No," a muffled voice came from the pillow. "It's too early."
"Up, up, up," she shouted. That was a word daddy taught her; it meant talking really loudly.
"Too early," a hand poked out and waved over her face, gently prodding her cheeks and nose.
"Caroline," she giggled, squirming, "what are you doing?"
"I'm searching for the snooze button," Caroline looked at daddy and closed one eye.
"Oh no, sweetheart," daddy shut one eye too, "you'll never find it that way. The snooze button is down here."
Daddy's finger poked her belly button. It tickled.
"No, no," Caroline sat up on her arm, "that's the giggle button."
Daddy poked her again. She laughed and squirmed. Uncle Finn taught her squirmed. It meant she couldn't sit still like daddy and uncle Kol.
"You might be right, love," daddy nodded. "I think we have to accept that children don't come with snooze buttons."
"I suppose so," Caroline nodded. Then she smirked. Auntie Bex taught her smirk; it was a smile that was more than a smile and said someone was thinking of doing something silly. Uncle Kol and Lucien liked to smirk a lot.
Caroline reached up and started tickling her.
"Hey," she laughed, pushing at her hands. But when Caroline stopped he started. "Daddy!"
She pushed him away and took a deep breath. Then she poked his nose and gave him her stern look. Uncle Lucien taught her stern; it was how Uncle Elijah looked at Kol when he was in trouble.
"Stop that, it's time to get up."
"Why is it time to get up?" Caroline frowned and dropped back onto her pillow.
"Because it's Christmas," she threw up her hands.
"Oh no," Caroline looked at daddy and closed one eye again.
Why did they keep closing one eye?
"I distinctly remember there being a Christmas last year."
"I remember that too," daddy nodded.
"Ugh, Christmas is every year." She shook her head and crawled off the bed, reached up and tugged on daddy's arm. "I thought grown-ups were smart."
"We're smarter after coffee," Caroline laughed. She stood up on the other side of the bed and reached for a sweater.
"Yucky coffee after presents."
"Now, sweetheart," daddy sat on the edge of the bed and lifted her into his lap, "what happens before presents?"
She scrunched up her nose and tapped her chin. "Wake up?"
"First we wake up," he poked her nose, "then we have breakfast."
"Then let's have breakfast," she wiggled back to the floor.
"As a family, Hope," daddy laughed, "and not everybody is awake."
"I can fix that." She ran out into the hall.
His nose skimmed her shoulder and sent little tingles down her spine to meet with the shocks ignited beneath the fingers drawing abstract patterns over her stomach.
She wiggled a little, unable to keep still under the gentle ministrations, and giggled, mumbling sleepily.
"Is that an early Christmas present I feel?"
"I think I gave this one to you many times last night," he chuckled, leaving open mouthed kisses on the back of her arm.
His semi-hard erection slipped between her legs and rubbed through her folds. Arousal coated his length as he gently rolled his hips.
"I married an insatiable man," she giggled, sliding her left leg higher to grant him better access.
"We're newlyweds, my love, we get to be insatiable," his teeth tugged on her earlobe.
"Does that mean the novelty will wear off?" She smirked, glancing towards the door.
"Never," he swore. "I swear to you darling. I will wake you everyday with a kiss."
"Just a kiss?" She pretended to pout.
"I never said where the kiss would be," he kissed the sensitive juncture where her throat met her shoulder to punctuate his point. "Maybe it'll be here…" he dragged the tip of his index finger up towards the valley of her breasts, "or here," he moved back down, dipping his finger into her naval, "maybe I will poke my tongue here, or lower."
He dragged his hand over the curve of her hip and across her raised thigh, finding his way up the backside.
He was so close to touching her. His fingers were nearly there, nearly to her glistening folds and aching clit. It would have been nothing to make the final contact, but before he could the bedroom door banged open.
She gasped and clutched at the sheet, squishing her breasts beneath her arm. It was secured just in time for a small body to jump up on their bed.
"Wake up, wake up," Hope bounced.
Elena clutched the sheet tighter when the jumping girl threatened to tear it away with every overexcited bounce.
"Oh," Hope settled a little bit when they looked at her with raised brows. "You're up."
"We are," Elena pressed her lips together, trying to hide her smile.
Hope lost a little of her enthusiasm as she looked around the bedroom at their discarded clothes. "You two are messy. Daddy says I always have to pick up my clothes. You're not supposed to leave them all over the floor."
"We'll make sure to pick them up," Elena felt a slight flush creep up her chest.
"Why aren't you wearing pyjamas?" Hope tilted her head. "Are you sick? I don't like wearing my pyjamas when I'm sick."
"We're not sick, bunny," Kol cleared his throat. "It was just very warm in here last night."
Elena pushed her elbow into his ribs.
"You need to get dressed for breakfast," she said simply and jumped down off the bed.
"Shut the door, Hope," Elena called after her retreating form.
The door remained wide open.
"Well," Kol ran a hand through his hair, "that'll kill a mood. Are we sure we want some of those?"
She fell back against the pillow and laughed. He joined in, knowing they were both looking forward to the day their own kids ran screaming down the halls on Christmas morning.
Less than an hour later, after everyone finally finished eating and torturing the kids with a waiting game they all found themselves in the sitting room. They sat scattered around on different pieces of furniture while Hope and Finn's daughter Lucy delivered presents.
Lucy had to help Hope read out the names though, since she was seven and Hope was almost four and couldn't read yet.
The little red head raced around delivering gifts.
Every present bore a single tag printed with the name of the recipient. And the first time Elena spent a Christmas with the family she had thought it really strange, but then they explained the game to her. They all tried to guess who gave them what.
It was a lot of fun.
She had a dozen open gifts that she had accurately guessed based on the contents. So far only one had been right from the wrapping paper.
"This one's for you," Hope beamed, shoving the small box into her hand.
"Thank you."
Elena tested the weight, tipped the box from side to side and frowned. The silver paper covered a reasonably slim box, narrow enough to be necklace; one of the ones stored in a cardboard box until opened.
"Kol?" She guessed. Because really, who else would give her jewelry.
He skimmed his knuckles up and down her arm while frowning at the box.
"It's not one of mine," he kissed the top of her head.
"Hmm?" She tore into the iridescent paper. As she thought the box beneath was simple, but when she lifted off the lid her heart thudded hard against her ribcage.
Her manicured nails gingerly picked the object up by the handle. It tinkled as she lifted it. A green silk ribbon tied in a bow decorated the top of the antique rattle's handle.
"Alright," she pointed around the room with the offending item, "who thinks they're being cute?"
Laughter, snickers and hidden smiles should have been indicators of guilt. They should have been. Under normal circumstances they would have been, but she highly doubted the entirety of his family and Caroline teamed up to pull a prank on them.
"Is that not fitting?" Rebekah covered her mouth with her hand as she stood to answer the doorbell.
"I think we were all of the same mind when you announced you were getting married so soon," Klaus snickered. He turned over the new leather bound sketchbook from Caroline as she mimed cocking a shotgun.
The action drew a snort from Finn of all people.
"Just for the record," she waved the tiny rattle around, "I am not pregnant."
"Yet," Kol's whispered breath didn't travel beyond her ear.
Out in the foyer Rebekah stilled as she opened the door. Her eyes raked over his dark jacket and up to his flushed face.
"What are you doing here?" She held the doorknob.
"I come bearing gifts," he smiled, holding up a brown envelope.
"You come bearing papers," she rolled her eyes, but stepped back, allowing him into the house. "This couldn't wait."
"I thought Elena might want it before flying out, and since they fly out at three in the morning it was today or the New Year."
Klaus saw them first when they returned and drew Kol and Elena's eyes to his presence.
"Marcel," Kol slid his hand down Elena's arm, cupping her elbow, "what are you doing here?"
"Merry Christmas," Hope grinned, looking up from the box of water colours she was enthusiastically unwrapping.
"I wanted to make sure Elena got this," he held up the folder. "Do you have a minute?"
Kol exchanged a look with his new bride and nodded, standing to offer her a hand off the couch.
"I think there's some coffee left in the kitchen," his arm slid around her back.
She set down the rattle and walked with him, her chest tightening with each hesitant step until she sat in a chair at the breakfast nook.
He opened the envelope and slid out a pile of papers while Kol retrieved three cups of coffee.
She picked up a photograph on top and tilted her head. A pair of cheerleaders stared back at her. The girl with the lighter hair possessed kind eyes and a bright smile while the other stared at the photographer in that way teenage girls did when they wanted to be taken seriously and thought of as older.
A woman's handwriting labeled the girls as Trudie Peterson and Isobel Flemming.
"It took some digging," Marcel explained, turning over a birth certificate, "but I found her. Isobel Flemming was born in Grove Hill. Her teenage best friend, that's Trudie, was kind enough to give me the picture. Isobel spent a lot of time in Mystic Falls, where she met a boy. Apparently Isobel wasn't the promiscuous sort, so that boy's likely your father."
"What happened to her? Where is she now?" Elena fingered the edged of the polaroid. There were a lot of pages stamped with an official looking logo that made the pit of her stomach fall.
"Are you sure you want to know this?" He angled the pages away, but she could tell they were from a police report.
"No," she straightened her spine, grateful for the supporting hand on her thigh, "but I need to know."
"Alright," Marcel flipped the pages around. The top one was a missing persons report. "She moved and took up a research position at Duke University. That's where she met her husband. They lived together in the area for four years, but sixteen years ago she disappeared."
She felt a sudden, overwhelming desire to curl into Kol and let him hold her.
"Suspicion fell on her husband, but nothing could be proven. As we know public opinion is powerful, and the opinions of him got so bad he had to relocate to, get this Mystic Falls."
"My… my birth mother's husband lives in Mystic Falls?" Her mind grasped at that fact.
"He was your high school history teacher," Marcel exhaled.
"Alaric Saltzman?" Kol frowned. He rubbed a small circle over her leg with his thumb.
"That's him," he nodded. "I looked him up to find out what he knows, and he's still in town."
"He's engaged to my aunt," she whispered, "he was at our wedding last night."
"And after your wedding I found him at his apartment with this pile of paperwork." He reached inside and pulled out another photograph.
This one was more recent and detailed than the last. She could actually see the green eyes staring up at her, laughing sadly at whoever held the camera. There was something in her gaze that betrayed an old heartbreak.
Had her father caused that?
"Alaric knew his wife had a child when she was a teenager. According to him she struggled with giving her daughter up and her greatest wish was to have her baby back, but there were some legal issues preventing it. Legal issues she told him she wasn't aware of when she gave you up."
"The birth certificate," Elena breathed, touching her fingers to her lips.
Marcel nodded, saying nothing about how she was gravitating into Kol's side.
"Legally speaking she wasn't your mother and trying to just take you back would have been kidnapping."
"Did Ric know why she gave me up?" She swallowed. "Does he know who I am?"
"I didn't tell him, but he knows that I work for Kol, so I'm pretty sure he deduced that it's you. And he did have an idea why."
She took a shaky breath and nodded for him to continue. One day she might talk to Ric about Isobel, but she didn't think she could face him yet. He was her former teacher and almost uncle, and now apparently her once sort-of step-dad; that sounded awkward as awkward could be.
"It took her some time to open up and share that part of her life with him, but she did. She told him that when she was sixteen she got pregnant by her teenage boyfriend and ran away from home. When it was time for her to have the baby, to have you, her boyfriend took her to his big brother's doctor's office. She stayed with you for three days, staying with the doctor and his wife. Maybe there was some postpartum depression, but she told him that when she saw this couple with you she felt like she couldn't give you a good life, so she left, and apparently regretted it very quickly. I never did get a name for the doctor or his brother…"
Marcel noted the bloodless cheeks and wide eyes.
"Darling," Kol twisted in his chair and reached for her cold hands, "it's alright."
"I can keep looking," he suggested.
Elena shook her head.
"I don't think that will be necessary, Marcel." He smoothed his thumbs across her knuckles. "We already know."
He made an excuse to leave, but Elena hardly noticed. Her eyes stared vacantly into the past, searching for every moment, each interaction.
"He knew," her vision grew misty as her heart thundered. "He knew… he knew that I knew and how much…"
Kol opened his arms as she fell forward and hugged her to his chest. He massaged her back with one hand and used the other to smooth her hair back from her cheek.
"It hurt," she sniffled, hating herself for the hot tears staining his shirt. "It hurt… he knew…"
"I know, Elena," he kissed the top of her head. "He should have told you the truth. He should have told you the truth a long time ago."
Goosebumps rose on her arms. They were meant to join her family for lunch before rejoining everyone at the mansion for dinner. Her family: Jenna, Jeremy, Alaric… John.
"I don't want to see him," she choked.
"Then we won't go to lunch," his fingers gently kneaded the back of her head.
"But…" she still wanted her family.
"We can set three extra places for Christmas dinner here. I'm sure they'll understand the situation." He cupped her chin and lifted her tear streaked face. "Or we could set two places if you prefer. Given the circumstances I don't think Alaric would mind."
Two, or three? She swallowed, struggling to catch her breath. If she hadn't had Jeremy she would have asked Alaric to give her away, he was the closest thing she had to a father figure now; she didn't want to exclude him.
"Three places," her voice came out reasonably level and she gave herself a mental pat on the back.
"Would you like me to call?" He nodded.
"I'll do it," she shook her head and stood, making her way to the old wall phone. "I can do this," she nodded when he stood up.
"I'll let everyone know we'll be joined for dinner tonight."
She punched in the seven digits that were as familiar to her as her own name and held the phone to her ear. Her eyes tracked him as he left the kitchen. Three rings went by before the call connected with a click.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Jer. Merry Christmas," she felt a fresh wave of tears flood her eyes.
"Merry Christmas. What's with the early call? We're gonna see you in a few hours."
"Actually you're not," she swallowed and twisted the phone cord around her fingers. "We can't make lunch."
"I'm sure you two can drag yourselves away from each other for a couple of hours."
She could practically hear him rolling his eyes. "That's not the reason. Bring Jenna and Ric to the mansion around 6:30, and I'll tell you a little more."
"What about?"
"I told you who to bring," she said more sharply then she meant to. "Sorry. Will I see you tonight?"
He hesitated for a moment before breathing.
"How could I pass up an opportunity to nab some of Elijah's gingerbread?"
"Just you three?"
"Just us three."