A/N: Hi all! First I would like to say thank you to everyone who has liked this story and has read it and who has commented. I really do appreciate it.

I'm sorry I've been away from writing these stories. Life happens and well we know how life can get.

I didn't abandon any of my stories. One way or another I will finish them. In the mean time, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your patience and understanding. I really do appreciate it 3

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(At Elijah's House)

(Claire's P.O.V.)

When I woke up the next morning, it was only because the sun was shining through the window and it was beaming right in my face.

Groaning, I shield my eyes and turn before rubbing them to get the sleep out of my eyes.

Slowly, I sit up in the bed and wince slightly.

Then, still moving slow, I remove the covers and and slid my legs to the edge of the bed.

Then, gently, I place my feet on the floor and stood, wincing a little more at the pain I felt because of my thigh.

Taking small steps, I begin to walk over to the door, the pain beginning to subside as I walked.

Once out of the bedroom, I made my way to the stairs as the smell of food hit me.

Please tell me I'm not hallucinating, I thought.

I descend the stairs and walked into the kitchen to see an array of breakfast food all over the counter from pancakes, to eggs, toast, and bacon.

And standing at the stove with his back to me, putting what looked like bread covered in egg into a frying pan, was Elijah.

I took him in. A vampire, who has been alive for centuries, who was considered one of the most dangerous vampires that ever lived, was currently standing in the kitchen with his dress shirt sleeves rolled up, and was doing something completely domesticated. Something completely human.

But he was to be feared.

I know there's a good reason for everyone to fear Elijah, but I just didn't feel like I should fear him.

It was the opposite, in fact.

"Good morning, Claire." Elijah said, taking me out of my thoughts. "I trust you slept well?"

"I did." I said. "What did you do while I was sleeping?"

"Read, light housekeeping, nothing out of the normal." He said.

I stared at him. If I didn't know he was a vampire, I wouldn't believe anyone telling me he was.

"You're welcome to eat." Elijah said, his back still facing me. "I wasn't sure what you prefer to eat for breakfast, so I made what humans usually like to eat in the morning."

"I can see that." I said.

Elijah finally looks at me, a small smile on his face.

"Please, eat." He said. He takes a plate off the counter and holds it out to me.

I return his smile with one of my own and took the plate from him.

"Again, I must apologize on behalf of my siblings and what they did last night." Elijah said as I started to load my plate up with food. "What they did, should not have happened."

"It's not your fault." I said.

"All the same." He said. "I promise they won't come near you again. Not until they change their ways."

From the look on his face, I could tell he meant it.

"I don't know why Alaric told you to come find me, but regardless of the reason why, you have my word that I won't let anything happen to you." Elijah said. "And, I will help you figure out the reason why he sent you to me. Knowing him the way I did, I'm sure it was for a good reason."

"Okay." I said, nodding.

Elijah smiled a little at me and went back to cooking.

I grabbed a little more food and walked over to the table and sat down.

"What would you like to drink?" I heard Elijah say.

I look at him just in time to see he was walking over to me with four cups, two cups in each hand, and placed them on the table in front of me.

"Elijah," I began.

"I wasn't sure what your preferred beverage was, so there's coffee, tea, orange juice and water." He said.

"Elijah," I said. "I appreciate this, I do, but you don't have to do this. I can get my own breakfast. You don't have to cook for me."

"It's no trouble." Elijah said, a slight smile showing on his face. "You are my guest. What kind of Host would I be if I didn't make your stay welcoming?"

"Elijah," I said.

"Besides, I enjoy it." He said. "It's been a while since I cooked last. It's nice to put my culinary skills to good use."

I studied him for a moment.

"Join me?" I asked.

Elijah smiled and grabbed a plate from the counter.

"After breakfast, I was thinking about heading to my family's estate to grab some books from the library." He said, placing food in his dish. "Maybe there's something in one of those books that can help us."

"That's really nice of you." I said. "Thank you."

"I meant what I said, Claire." Elijah said, walking over to the table and sitting down across from me. "I'm going to help you figure out why Alaric sent you to me. And if any books out there can help, it would be my collection. They're the oldest books in existence, after all."

"Still." I said. "Thank you."

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(The Mikaelson Household)

(Elijah's P.O.V.)

I entered the Mikaelson house and closed the door behind me.

I stand still for a moment, listening for any sign that my siblings where home.

I heard nothing.

I'm sure that won't last long, I thought.

I made my way as quickly and as silent as possible to the library.

Once in the library, I open the duffle bag I brought with me and sat it on the table.

I look over the bookshelf and start to take the books I thought would be helpful for me and Claire and placed them in the duffle bag.

Once the books were in there, I zipped up the bag and placed it over my shoulder, walking out of the library.

When I reached the door, I saw Rebekah was standing there with her arms crossed.

I slow to a stop.

"Where are you going with all those books?" She asked.

I stayed silent.

Rebekah sighed.

"Elijah, is she really worth this?" She asked. "Is that girl really worth losing me and Klaus over? She's a human. A hunter, at that. Is she really worth it?"

I thought about what she said briefly. I wanted to tell her it wasn't. That this human woman meant nothing compared to them; my family.

But I couldn't.

Claire was important to me. Despite the short amount of time I've known her. She was worth protecting. Worth fighting for.

Worth losing my family over.

That realization, surprised me. There's never been someone I would put before family, no matter what it was.

This was different, though. I could feel it in my bones.

And if I could, I was willing to bet, if my siblings would stop thinking about themselves for a minute, they would be able to feel it too.

"What does she have over you, Elijah?" Rebekah asked quietly.

"She doesn't have anything over me." I said. "She asked for my help. So, I'm helping her."

"With what?" She asked.

"Nothing that concerns you." I said. "It's between me and Claire." I studied her for a moment. "Are you going to let me through?"

She didn't move.

"Rebekah, I don't want to have to move you, but if you don't get out of my way, I will." I said. "The choice is yours."

Rebekah held my stare for a moment before stepping out of the way.

I walk over to the door.

"I hope you know what you're doing, brother." I heard Rebekah say.

I don't respond. Instead, I open the door and saw Stefan standing on the other side, about to knock.

He stared at me surprised for a moment.

"If you're looking for Klaus, I'm afraid he's not here." I said. "If you're looking for Rebekah, she's just behind me. Excuse me."

I walked by him and went to the car. Leaving not too long after.