All Along the Watchtower

"Absolutely not, Elena. Completely out of the question." She feels so caught in between them, Klaus is explosively pacing through the flat. His energy is a whirlpool that threatens to drown her while her brother's pleading brown eyes ensnare her in the bonds of family.

"We can at least hear him out."

"I don't see the point of your brother wasting his breathe on a sales pitch when I'm not buying."

"Klaus, I did promise him."

"You've also told me that you wouldn't be going back to Mystic Falls. That we wouldn't be parted again. Which word will you keep?"

"Klaus, nothing bad will happen."

"A sentiment you've vowed before and look what happened. Mystic Falls is the birthplace of heartache. You can't guarantee anything."

"He's my brother and I promised him. I can't go back on that."

Klaus turns to her brother. "Why should she help you? After what you've done?"

"It wasn't supposed to turn out like it did. Damon went rogue. We would have let you two reunite once we had proof you weren't forcing her to be with you."

"See, Jeremy, no one lets me do anything. And I venture to guess that your sister would rather her high school chums and kid brother stop trying to control her. So, I shall ask you again. Why should she help you? Convince me of the merits of your request and I'll follow her willingly, without protest."

Elena hadn't considered that he might not come with her. She'd assumed that where she went, he'd be there with her.

"This is something I have to do, Elena."

"Not enough, young Gilbert."

"The ultimate goal of The Five is to kill the first immortal. Killing vampires is just a secondary task. Galen told me that the witch who created Hunters did it with one purpose in mind. Our Mark leads us to Silas and we are tasked with killing him. Each occurrence of The Five has never accomplished this, but Galen thinks that if we do then we won't have to be Hunters anymore."

"You don't want to be a Hunter?" She's never considered before that this might be a burden on him.

"God no, Elena. I can't do anything else with my life as long as I'm a Hunter. I can't settle down anywhere."

"I thought you were happy, Jer."

"I want to do this. I need to do this to be happy. I want to be able to look at you and only see my sister."

"What do you mean?"

"How Connor feels? How he reacts when he sees you or Klaus? That's how I feel all the time too, just simmering underneath. It takes everything in me to fight that feeling, Elena. And I'm tired. I'm so tired of fighting it. I want to be happy for you, I really do. But as long as I am what I am, I can't."

Elena moved towards him, but he brings up a hand to stop her. His eyes are shimmering when he turns back to Klaus.

"So, that's why I have to do this. And I can't do it without Elena because I can't do it with just those guys. I need her to be there with me. Please. Ever since we met at that dinner, I've been doing everything Ric taught me to help me rewire my brain, but it isn't working. I can't keep ignoring this and go on hunting vampires. If I do, I worry that I'll see her the same way Connor does and I can't bear that. I don't have a lot of family left, Klaus. I can't lose her too."

"Klaus…"

"Well, what a surprising argument." Klaus clears his throat. "I'll do everything I can to help. I'd shake on it, but I imagine that isn't the wisest thing to do."

"No, probably not. Yet."

"Perhaps one day, then."

Jeremy nods slowly. "I should get out of here. Check on the guys. Elena, we are leaving tomorrow. I'll see you back home?"

"Yeah, Jer. You'll see us both."

"I'll talk to Connor. Make sure he either stays out of the way or something. I'm really sorry about all this."

"You owe me a deposit." A look passes between them, an understanding of which only siblings are capable.

For the first time since Klaus opened the door, Elena and Jeremy smile at each other. They end the conversation the way it should have begun, with a hug and an 'I love you'.

As the sun finally comes up, shining into her windows and illuminating too clearly the destruction left on her floor, Elena lets Klaus take care of her. She sits on her bed, one of the only pieces of furniture that didn't get wrecked. Klaus is on his knees in front of her, cleaning the scrapes on her knees. That he can be so gentle with her when she knows how capable his hands are of destruction tugs at her heart.

He blows gently on her knee, drying the peroxide, and places a Band-Aid softly over the scrape. He leans down to kiss just above the bruises, blossoming angrily over her shin.

He moves up to sit next to her on the bed to get a better look at her neck. His fingers glide over her collarbone. His face oscillates between concern and rage as he takes in the obscene necklace Connor has given her. Just hours ago, he was fascinated with her neck for a much different reason.

She thinks that life will always be like this now that she's chosen him. For better or worse, opening herself up to him has opened herself up to more violence. Not that her existence was benign. Her blood and lineage almost mandated danger, but by diminishing herself she had diminished that aspect of her life. With Klaus, she was choosing to live and that choice opened them both up to uncertainty.

As he takes in her injuries, she studies him silently. She has no doubt that he has a lot to say, but she doesn't want to have to pry it out of him. She'd rather stay quiet and let him come to her.

Each time he lets out a long exhale, she thinks he might be ready to talk, but he just keeps looking her over. Finally, he pulls himself back on the bed to lean against the wall. He lays a hand on his chest and motions for her to lay next to him. She obliges and scoots up, careful of her knees.

She leans into his chest, listening to the comforting sounds of his heart beating. He runs his hands through her hair, easier now that it only hits just past her shoulders. Her hand wanders up to his side, her fingers exploring the hole in his shirt and she's so grateful for his resilience. She could never love an ordinary man and Klaus was anything but ordinary.

It's when she's shut her eyes, almost given into the exhaustion after the adrenaline has seeped out of her body, he begins to talk.

"Well, it seems as though you've gotten your wish."

"What do you mean? I told you I didn't want to go back to Mystic Falls. Klaus, trust me that is the last place I want to be right now."

"Not that, love. Your brother wants so badly to support you and what you want that he is willing to kill not just an immortal, but the first one. He's willing to give up his supernatural instincts for you."

"Not just me. It's for him too."

"True, but I assume that he was smart enough to make most of his argument to me centered on you."

"You don't have to come, if you don't want to."

"Oh, I absolutely don't want to go back. But I also wouldn't dare let you go without me either."

"Looks like you are stuck."

"Indeed, but there will be some ground rules."

She pushes up on her arm and leans over him to look him in the eye. "Excuse me?"

"I'm serious, Elena. It didn't matter to your friends how congenial I was or how hard I tried for you. They still interfered. I only just got you back and it won't happen again."

"I know," she started.

"No, you don't. Because you've grown accustomed to everyone making choices for you. That's why you stayed away, isn't it? Stayed away and stayed alone."

"Elijah was there," she countered. "I wasn't completely alone."

"Only sometimes though, right? You never let him in. Not really. You only had visitors."

"Get to the point, Klaus."

"I'm not used to being controlled or attempted to be controlled at least. To be at the mercy of the whims of lesser creatures is horrendous. Any attempt at such, no matter how small, and I will retaliate tenfold. Regardless of you."

"What if what you do makes me hate you?"

"Oh Elena. We are bonded now by death and re-birth. You've changed me just as much as I've changed you and I don't believe you could ever actually hate me. I'd be willing to risk your wrath if it means making a point."

"I'm still the same, Klaus."

"Are you so arrogant to believe that you could pass through the veil of the afterlife and come back the same woman? I may be more wolfish as you put it, but you dear are something else entirely."

Anyone else would have been concerned for her, but not Klaus. He looked at her like he was revealing in some new opportunity that she couldn't see.

A/N: My inbox was flooded yesterday with guest reviews and I was absolutely floored! I absolutely love getting reviews and do my best to reply back to any review, but since I can't on the guest ones I will here. Thank you so much for your thoughts! It's so amazing to get feedback and I'm so appreciative of all the thoughts/comments left on this fic. This is my first time writing fanfiction and it's so nice to share it and know there are people out there that are enjoying it.