Coming home was difficult. When she got back to her apartment, all she could do was breakdown. All of her hurt that she stuffed down to get through the plane ride home, had broken like a damn. Her chest ached with pain.

Elena felt her phone ring and her pocket and knew it was Kol. Her head was pounding with him trying to get through to her.

Breathe, his voice said. Part of her wanted to know how he had gotten past her mental barriers, but the other part of her was too exhausted and tortured to ask.

Elena, breathe, he commanded. Deep breaths.

She tried her hardest to focus on his voice. Leaving and not saying goodbye was so hard to do.

I know, just breathe, he told her soothingly. Just breathe.

Elena held her torso, with her knees to the floor, rocking herself back and forth.

Her love for Elijah consumed her, the pain of losing him, and him hurting her was killing her. The emptiness and terror of not fitting anywhere ate her.

Listen to my voice, Kol commanded. Focus on my voice.

Kol stood in the atrium of the compound clutching his chest. Her pain was unbearable. He couldn't have imagined what it had felt when she had lost Jeremy. She was even worse then.

"Kol?" Rebekah asked, bending down to him in concern. She looked to him and his coffee thinking maybe he was poisoned.

"Elijah! Nik!" she yelled.

Breathe, Kol telepathically commanded Elena.

"Kol. Kol," Rebekah said shaking him. It broke Kol's concentration and he gasped. "Damn it, Bex!"

Kol's chest still burned like a wildfire. It took almost all the energy he could give to their connection to break her mental barriers. He was exhausted and drained, and now Rebekah had severed their link and he'd have to push through Elena's mind again.

"Wha-…I was trying to help you, you asshole!" she yelled at him. "I thought you might have been poisoned!"

He shook his head at her, knowing he shouldn't be mad at her. She was caring for him. Wincing at the pain in his chest, he tried to focus on calming his family. "It's Elena."

Concern struck all of their faces.

"She got home fine," he told them. "she's just…broken."

Elijah closed his eyes, looking away in shame.

"She's fighting me and not letting me in. God," he sighed. Feeling another pang of hurt, he slammed his fist on the table. "How can one person feel like this?"

It was like being ripped in two.

Rebekah stood with her phone to her ear repeatedly dialing Elena's number. Each time she got voicemail.

"Tell her to pick up the damn phone," Rebekah snapped at Kol.

Kol glared back at her.

"Calm her down, Kol," Klaus commanded.

"Please," Elijah said breathlessly with tears in his eyes.

Kol took a few deep breaths and tried to establish a connection with her again. It was easier this time. She didn't have as much fight.

Elena, darling. Pick up your phone. Bex is trying to talk to you. She's about to have a breakdown about you.

It was the wrong thing to say because he suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Damn it.

Just pick up the phone, darling, he coaxed slowly. He waited and waited.

"Elena!" Rebekah exclaimed when the line stopped ringing. Silence was on the other end of the line and suddenly Rebekah wasn't sure what to say. Standing there, Rebekah decided just to be there. "We're here Elena."

Elijah listened intently to the phone. He heard the calming of her sobs and he watched as Kol tried to help her through their connection. Elijah was a monster.

They stood there all just listening. It wasn't until Hayley came in and had asked in all the silence what was going on that things changed.

"I have to go," Elena whispered and disconnected the line.

"Damn it," Kol swore. Elena pushed him out of her head. He couldn't get her back. Filled with rage, he went about the atrium destroying things.

"What the hell?" Hayley asked watching the little Mikaelson take a tantrum.

"I'm going home, Niklaus," Elijah determined. He was going to find Elena and be with her. He didn't care how she pushed him away or said that she didn't want him or need him. She was in pain and she did need him. That was clear.

"Elijah…" Klaus warned.

Elijah didn't want to hear it. He would book a ticket for the next soonest flight.

"You're not going anywhere near her," Kol snapped, his hands crushing the upstairs banister. He had destroyed most everything in the atrium and had started marking his way around the second floor. Speeding down to Elijah, Kol glared at his brother with wild eyes. "You broke her. You destroyed her. You kissed another woman and you think you can go and be her savior?!"

Elijah stood there emotionless.

"No," Kol spat venomously. "You don't get to go home and console her."

It took time for Elena to get better, but slowly she did. She kept in touch with each of the Mikaelsons besides Elijah. It was confusing at first, but they were so persistent about reaching out to her that Elena ended up making it straight with herself that she could be a friend, but nothing more to the family. She was not 'always and forever' and she was not a Mikaelson like she thought herself to be.

"Hi there," Elena cooed to the newborn baby over the screen. Hope Andrea Mikaelson was born just a few weeks after Elena left the compound. It was a surprise to everyone that the baby had come early, but figuring that Hayley was wolf and human, the gestation period was actually pretty accurate of 7 months. Everyone had fallen in love with baby Hope. Klaus was absolutely smitten.

"How is everyone there?" she smiled to the baby and focused back on Kol, Klaus and Rebekah. She was glad Elijah was nowhere around in the picture.

"We're fine," Klaus spoke holding his child. What he meant to say was Hayley was gone and he was a wreck. Klaus had video chatted Elena earlier in the week in a rage that ended in his sobs. He didn't know how to provide a good and stable home life for his child. Hayley was not the mother he wanted her to be and he was afraid what his child was stuck with as him for a father.

"Is she going to leave?" Elena asked gently as Klaus told her about his fight with Hayley that night.

"I gave her the option," he answered with anger. "Last I saw, she was packing her bags."

And she did. Hayley did end up leaving the compound and her child behind. Motherhood wasn't for her and Klaus was absolutely devastated with worry on how that would impact his child.

"Earth to Elena," Rebekah called. Snapping out of her daze, Elena focused back on her friends. "Sorry, what was that?"

"Are we boring you, darling?" Kol teased.

Elena laughed and shook her head. "Sorry."

Elijah sat in a chair out of the picture wondering what she was thinking just now. She had never known, but almost every video chat session she had with his family, he had sat in on, just outside of the frame so he couldn't be seen.

The first time he had done it, it was with Kol. Elijah had practically begged his brother to sit on his video session with Kol, just so he could see Elena. His little brother finally caved and let him sit out of the picture and listen, but vowed if he made any noise, he'd dagger him. Elijah made sure to keep quiet.

He got to watch her from the screen and take in her beauty. Each time she looked different. The first time Elena looked tired. There were bags under her eyes, voice raspy and she had talked with Kol on how hard of a time she was having. And then as his siblings continued to chat with her, she began to get better.

Slowly, he watched as she moved on from him. And while his heart hurt, he just was happy to get those moments to see her. He liked watching how she would bite her lip or furrow her brow as she listened intently to them. He would smile when she would coo at Hope over the screen or dance around her kitchen when she would chat with Kol.

He didn't mean to pry, he just missed her. He never really followed their conversation, he just liked seeing her.

As conversation continued, Elena got up and answered the doorbell. Caroline had come bearing booze and take out.

"Hey everyone," the blonde smiled to the camera as she walked around Elena's apartment. The girls sat in front of Elena's laptop and cooed at Hope.

"Care, is it supposed to storm?" Elena asked glancing out her window. It was unbelievably windy.

The girls stared out with wonder. They had never seen Mystic Falls like this.

"What's going on?" Rebekah wondered.

"Nothing," Elena claimed disbelievingly. Turning back to her friends, she shook her head and smiled. "So, is Hope's room finally finished?"

Rebekah had been working on baby Hope's nursery since she the baby shower. She wanted it perfect for her niece and each time it had gotten close to complete she ended up not liking it and starting over.

As Rebekah blabbed on all about it, Caroline cooed at the baby. She'd never admit it to his face, but Klaus had made cute offspring.

There was a loud bang in the background, immediately stopping conversation. Elena and Caroline both jumped, moving to look outside.

"What was that?" the Mikaelson family asked. Before Elena or Caroline could answer, the camera went black and the connection was lost.

"Well that's not good," Caroline said looking out to the town. Every building had gone dark.

"Come on," Elena said grabbing her jacket. "Matt is working at the Grill tonight, let's go get him."

After locking up her apartment and rushing off to Matt, Elena realized that she had no cell service. Both the power and phones were out.

"What is going on?" Caroline yelled in the wind as they made their way to Matt.

"I have no idea. Nothing good!" Elena shouted back.

Elena. What's going on? Elena. Are you okay?

Kol was pushing at their mental connection.

The power went out, she told him. Cell towers are down as well. We are going to find Matt.

Both Elena and Caroline finally made it to the Grill. It was completely dark.

"What are you doing here?!" Matt shouted to them as he helped people rush out of the restaurant.

"Looking for you!" Caroline yelled. The three of them went back inside to hear one another.

"This weather is crazy," Matt breathed.

"…. you don't think anything is going on, do you?" Caroline asked to her friends hesitantly. It wouldn't be unusual for something to be happening in their crazy supernatural town.

Elena wondered with worry. Could it be?

Matt and Elena turned around, glancing out the door's window. It was dark, windy, and all that lit the streets was the full moon.

"Oh god," both Matt and Elena said at the same time. Wide eyed, they looked to one another and back at Caroline. "Bonnie." It was the perfect time to do a spell. She had the energy from the full moon.

"What do we do?!" Caroline screeched. Matt ran off to find them some flashlights and a map.

Kol. Kol! Elena said trying to establish a connection.

Elena? What is it? Kol could sense her panic.

The veil. We think Bonnie is dropping the veil! What do we do?!

Her head was quiet.

"Well!?" Caroline asked looking to Elena. If anyone could help them it would be Klaus and the rest of his family.

"I don't-"

We're coming, Kol said. In the mean time you have to find Bonnie and try to stop her.

Elena took in a fearful breath. How the hell was she going to do that? "We need reinforcements," Elena told Caroline. Matt came back with a map and some flashlights. Together they tried to piece out where Bonnie could be.

"Well that's not good," Klaus stated as he stared at the laptop with his daughter in his arms. The screen had gone black and the connection to Elena and Caroline had been cut off.

"What happened?" Elijah asked nervously. Something was wrong, he could feel it.

Rebekah tried calling Elena's cell and it went straight to voicemail. They all looked to Kol.

"And you people had a problem with this connection," Kol grumbled. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus and connect with Elena. It was harder to do when they were so far away from one another and not paying attention to their link.

Elena. What's going on? Elena. Are you okay?

Elena's mind opened and he could feel her rising panic.

The power went out, she told him. Cell towers are down as well. We are going to find Matt.

"Anything?" Rebekah asked impatiently. His loss of focus broke the conversation.

"Bex," he growled. He had talked to her about this before. "The power and cell towers are down in Mystic Falls. It seems pretty windy there from what I could read from Elena. They were going to find Matt."

Kol had kept to himself that his and Elena's connection had expanded as they spent time apart. If they were really able to concentrate, sometimes they'd be able to see what was going on through each other's eyes in real time. Other times either of them could only get a glimpse.

"Is Matt okay?" Rebekah asked him worriedly. She fancied the human.

"How should I know?" Kol snapped.

"Well!" she said shoving her brother. "Ask Elena!"

He went arguing with Rebekah, and then Elijah and Klaus as well, as they demanded answers from him. He wasn't a damn telephone.

"I wasn't the one who made her leave!" Kol yelled with anger to Elijah.

Kol. Kol! Elena said trying to establish a connection. Kol looked off in the distance to switch his focus over to Elena.

Elena? What is it? Panic and a swirl of emotions from Elena hit Kol. This was not good.

The veil. We think Bonnie is dropping the veil. What do we do?!

Kol broke the connection from Elena and looked to his siblings. "The bloody witch -she's trying to drop the veil."

Each sibling looked anxious. Every monstrous creature would be at all of their throats.

"We need to get down there, now," Elijah spoke determinedly.

Klaus looked to his daughter. He didn't want her in the crosshairs but he couldn't leave her behind. Damn her mother, he growled to himself.

"We have to bring her. We'll protect her, Nik," Rebekah said softly.

"Tell Elena we are coming," Elijah demanded to Kol.

"And have her find a way to stop that bloody witch!" Klaus yelled as he ran out of the room.

We're coming, Kol told Elena, trying hard not to relay his panic. In the mean time you have to find Bonnie and try to stop her.

When Elena finally got through over the phone, she immediately called Stefan and Damon. From what they could tell, Bonnie should probably be in the school or somewhere near it.

It felt like hours as they waited for answers. Elena paced around the Grill while Matt and Caroline tried to calmly sit in their seats.

"Well, your brother may be dead, but you aren't," a voice called out.

Eyes snapped to a tall black man. Connor. Grabbing Elena's neck, he burned her with his vervain gloves. Crying out in pain, she struggled against his firm grasp. He could touch her.

"Bonnie dropped the veil," Matt whispered to Caroline.

"Not for long, and not completely," Connor growled, while watching as Elena squirmed. "But who am I to give up an opportunity to kill a few vampires while I'm around?"

Elena drew upon Kol's energy. Taking what she could, she no longer felt the harsh burn of the vervain gloves. Bringing her hand up, she twisted the man's wrist and tossed him at some tables. Connor only took seconds before getting up and going for Elena again. Caroline and Matt watched helplessly as Elena and Connor battled it out, punching and dodging one another.

Taking a hard blow to her stomach, Elena reflexively brought her arms to her torso. Connor used that to take her by the arms and throw her down on the bar top. Her head ached at the force it hit the wood. His toss had also knocked the wind out of her. Coughing and gasping, she rolled to her side. Fisting his clothes in her hands, she used the last of her own energy and threw him back behind the bar wall.

Elena rolled herself off the bar top and had took more of Kol's energy to stand up straight. Her iris's glowed purple. Connor got up, dusting himself off and grabbing part of a smashed bottle. Throwing it at Elena, she quickly closed her eyes and ducked to dodge the object. It had caught Matt in the shoulder instead.

"Matt!" both girls yelled. Glancing back to Connor, they found he was gone.

"Argh," Kol groaned touching his neck. He felt Elena drawing his energy. She was in trouble.

"Kol?" Rebekah said frightened.

Closing his eyes, he saw through Elena's eyes. His irises changed from a brown to a glowing purple. She was fighting Connor. He gasped when their connection cut off.

"What the hell was that?" Rebekah asked kneeling down and seeing his eyes change color.

"The veil has been dropped," he told his siblings. "Elena was fighting with a hunter."

"Is she alright?" Elijah asked immediately. He should have returned to Mystic Falls earlier. He should be there!

Kol took in a deep breath and sensed her. She was still alive. "she's alive."

Laying his head back, Kol felt drained. Seeing through each other's eyes and using their connection was exhausting.

"Matt, just let us heal you," Caroline said as she plucked glass from his shoulder. Matt refused.

"Matt..." Elena said helplessly. "I'm so-"

"Don't," Matt groaned as Elena took out a huge shard of bottle. "You did nothing wrong, Elena. It's just my human reflexes."

The joke wasn't all that funny, but Matt had to try. Caroline pulled out more glass and continued to fret.

"What do we do if he comes back?" the quarterback wondered. While Elena was great at fighting, the hunter was strong. They couldn't stay here all night.

Matt let out a groan.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Caroline said as she yanked another big piece. Elena tried calling Damon and Stefan again. They needed to stop Bonnie. Now.

"Damon!" Elena exclaimed when she finally reached him over the phone. "The veil's down! The hunter, Connor, just paid us a visit." Elena paced the floor.

"Are you alright?" Damon asked looking up from his phone to Stefan. They were just getting to the Lockwood cellar where Bonnie must be.

"We're fine…he ran off, but-"

"There should be a first aid box in the back," Matt told Caroline, who was saying she needed more bandages and gauze.

"I'll get it," Elena called, already rushing over there. Handing the phone to Matt, Elena went to get the box. She still couldn't believe the glass that was meant for her hit Matt.

"Uh, hello?" Matt asked the phone.

"Donovan?" Damon asked confused. "What the hell is going on over there?"

"Connor just paid us a visit."

"Yeah, I know," Damon said annoyed. "Tell me something new."

"Okay. Uh, it gets worse. Connor's not finished. We have no idea where he is going or what he is planning, but he intends to do what he does best and take as many vampires down as he can."

Damon grimaced. This was getting very bad. "Do you have any good news for me, Donovan?"

"Just…watch your back."

Matt hung up the phone and the let the girl's take care of him.

"Okay," Elena sighed. She was tired and she was sure Kol was exhausted from her drawing energy from him, but she couldn't stop. They'd be sitting ducks if they did.

"I have a crazy idea, but I need you guys to run with it for me," she told them as she paced.

Both Matt and Caroline looked to one another worriedly.

"I'm going to go draw him out. And when I do, I need you both to run and hide and…go somewhere."

Both her friends looked at her with wide eyes.

"Go to Matt's house, Caroline," Elena thought. "He hasn't let any vampires in. You should be safe from the dead there." Hopefully.

"Elena, how are you going to even find Connor?" Caroline asked with sympathetic eyes.

"No idea," she sighed. "But I have to try. So please, get out of here and find somewhere safe. I need you guys to do that for me."

I can't lose you too, she thought to herself

Matt knew exactly what she was thinking. Agreeing to it, they cleaned up the Grill and then went to part their ways.

"Please, be careful," Matt told her. "I need you back here. We need to go to graduation tomorrow."

Elena smiled.

"You better make it or I'll find a way to bring you back and kill you myself," Caroline said with worry. Hugging her friend tightly, they locked up the Grill and went their separate ways.

Elena looked all over town for Connor. When she couldn't find him, she went to Jeremy's grave and sat there waiting. If Connor had come back maybe her brother did. Maybe she'd get to see him again. She waited and waited. The wind had even stopped, but still, no Jeremy.

"I'm so tired, Jer," she admitted to his gravestone. She put a hand over her face as tears welled in her eyes and the pains of his loss ripped through her chest. Everything, from the loss of Jeremy, her own human life, and Elijah came crashing down over her. "I can't. I can't do this. I can't—"

She sobbed. "I can't move on. I can't handle you…you being gone…"

Tears continued to fall down her cheeks. "I tried; I really did. I bought a place of my own and I got a job. I tried to move on and live on in memory of you, but I can't handle feeling like this anymore." Her heart ached for him. No matter how she tried to repair herself and push through the pain and loss, nothing worked. She still was left with open wounds.

"Sad, about your brother," Connor called to her. Elena quickly stopped crying and got up. He was holding stakes in his hands. Elena swallowed hard and watched his hands. She was sure they were laced with werewolf venom. With quick reflexes, he threw one at her. She ducked from it. He threw another and another, each one Elena dodged.

But then he charged at her and she wasn't prepared for that. Kicking, punching and choking, he threw her to the ground and hovered victoriously over her. Elena had used as much energy from Kol as she could. She wouldn't exhaust him any further. "Now this is what I missed," he spat. He stomped on her ribs, breaking them.

Groaning and crying out in pain, Elena laid on the cemetery ground exhausted. Her eyes flickered a bright purple.

"It's lonely on the other side," Connor growled, kicking her once more as she tried to get to her knees. "Do you know what it is like to be invisible? Watching as these vampires roam this earth and not being able to do anything to stop it..."

He kicked her again, watching as her head hit the base of a tree, before scooping her up by the neck.

I'm sorry, Kol, Elena thought as she closed her eyes in exhaustion. There was no fight left in her anymore. Connor had beaten her. Feeling Kol's rush of panic, she forcefully disconnected them.

Connor was about to snap her neck when there was a whoosh of air. Dropping her to the ground, he caught an arrow.

"How many times do I need to kill you?" Jeremy called out with his crossbow in arms.

"Jeremy Gilbert," Connor said holding the arrow and smiling at him with distain. "You're back."

Elena coughed and tried to clear her vision.

"What's that saying?" Connor asked, as he walked towards the male.

"Kill me once, shame on you, kill me twice, shame on—"

Connor fell to the floor.

"Let's leave it at that, shall we?" Alaric said looking to Jeremy with a smirk.

Jeremy glanced to his sister, finding her unmoving. "Elena? Elena!" Running towards her, he knelt down. She opened her eyes tiredly. The figure was slowly coming into focus.

Jeremy.

Elena felt her heart stop. It couldn't be…

Hope dangled in front of her. With as much energy she could muster, she moved her hand out to touch him. Was she dead?

Feeling her skin touch his, she awoke.

Jeremy glanced to their hands and back to her. Immediately he was hit with her body, holding him in a tight hug.

"Hey," he said holding onto his sister. Everything that was broken inside of her was starting to come together. Sobbing, she held onto him, clawing lightly at him to bring him closer. He was back. He was here. She could touch him.

"Jeremy."

Jeremy held her, closing his eyes and letting his tears out, as well. He watched as his sister suffered from his death. He had wished to see her once again. And now he could. "I'm here," he whispered to her. "I'm right here."

When she opened her eyes, she found Alaric standing there watching the pair with a smile. It couldn't be.

"Ric?" she whispered incredulous.

"Hey kiddo," he smiled, watching as she got up. Grabbing Jeremy's hand, she tugged him towards Ric so that she could hug him as well.

"You both are back," she smiled with tears. "You're here."

Hugging Jeremy once more, she sighed in happiness. Her heart was complete.

"Bonnie! What the hell did you do?" Stefan asked when he finally found her. Candles were lit all around and she was chanting to herself.

"Stefan?"

"You dropped the veil?!" Damon asked.

Bonnie looked wide eyed. "It worked?"

"Yeah, it did," Damon said pissed. "And you've brought back every pissed off supernatural creature with it!"

Bonnie looked to Stefan. "Did Jeremy come back?"

Stefan shrugged, not knowing. "Is this why you did it? All to bring Jeremy back?"

"It wasn't his time," Bonnie said. She got up and went to check her spell book. "The veil is only dropped temporarily. It goes back up tomorrow night. But it won't take me that long.

"For what?" Stefan asked cautiously, as the witch paced and lit more candles.

"I can bring him back. I can bring Jeremy back for good!"

"There is no way-" Damon stopped when he saw Bonnie's face.

"Bonnie," Stefan said calmly. The witch looked like she was about to kill his brother. "You can't just bring him back. He died. He-"

"If you're not going to help me, then get out," Bonnie snapped. Giving him a dangerous look, she waited for their decision. "Get out, Stefan. I mean it."

Damon and Stefan then left. There wasn't anything they could do to convince Bonnie, and they were about to have a lot bigger problems on their hands with the walking dead.

Kol was staring out the plane window when he felt pain. Gasping and sitting up, he searched to understand the feeling. Elena.

"Guys," he breathed, hoping to get his siblings attention. He felt his energy being taken from him and he had to take in a deep breath to try and focus. He needed to know what was going on.

"Come on, come on," he chanted. He tugged at their connection. And suddenly he felt everything. He felt her pain, her sadness. In a flash he saw Connor standing over her.

"Fuck," he cursed as he let go of their connection.

"Kol?"

"He has her," Kol swallowed hard, telling his family. "The hunter. He has Elena and he's doing a damn good job of beating her to a bloody pulp."

Elijah just about lost his mind while Klaus stood enraged. Rebekah sat back in her chair worried.

"Get her back," Elijah demanded. "Give her your energy. Tell her we are coming. Do something, Kol!"

"What do you think I'm doing, Elijah!" Kol yelled and stood up. Frustrated, he closed his eyes. It took a moment to sense her, but when he did, he tried to push at her to let him in. She wouldn't. And she wouldn't take any more of his energy from her.

"She won't let me help her," Kol told them. "She can sense I'm drained."

Elijah was falling apart. Klaus put a hand on his shoulder.

"What can you do, Kol?" the hybrid asked solemnly. "Anything."

I'm sorry, Kol, he heard in his head. His eyes snapped open and he tried to connect with her. She had shut him out.

"No," he said in disbelief. She was tired and beaten and hurt. But no, she'd never give up.

"What is it?" Rebekah asked worriedly.

Kol tried again. He tried to sense her and push his way into her mind.

"Damn it, Elena!" Kol snapped to no one. His eyes darted around the plane, as he tried to mentally focus. Come on, come on.

And then he felt it. He felt her breathe.

"I got her," he said with a sigh of relief. He looked up to his family, exhausted. He didn't know what happened and he was too exhausted to try again, but he knew she was okay. She was alive. "She's okay."

"Is she safe?" Elijah asked.

"I don't know, Elijah," Kol sighed as he sat back down in his seat, completely spent. "But she's okay." Whatever had happened, she was at least still alive.