I do not own TVD or TO
"You're not evil Elijah," she braced her arms on the stone bridge, "you might have had a twisted sense of morality at times, but you were never evil."
Their voices were all but drowned out by the loud chatter coming from the Camden market. In the distance they watched a train clatter over the tracks.
"How can you be so sure?" He stared out over the Regent's Canal.
"I'd like to consider myself a reasonably good judge of character," her lips quirked up in a small smirk.
"Elena," he sighed.
She draped her arm over his where it rested on the bridge, intertwining their fingers.
His skin tingled against her palm.
"I couldn't stop," his eyes took on a haunted look.
"You didn't kill him, Elijah," she squeezed his hand.
"I would have," he closed his eyes, utterly disgusted by his actions. The man had been all but dead in his arms, the heart slowing to a faint flutter, but he couldn't tear his fangs from his neck. "There was this little voice, some small part of me that urged me to do it; to take his life. I would have if you weren't there."
"According to Rebekah that's the Hollow. Do you hear it now?" Elena turned to look at him.
"No," he shook his head, turning to meet her eyes, "it's silent when I'm with you. Why is that?"
Elena drew her bottom lip between her teeth, feeling her pulse quicken under his searching gaze.
"I don't know," she breathed, "but it sounds like there is a really simple solution."
"Stay very close to you," he smirked, "at least until you come to your senses and run for the hills."
"I'm not going anywhere," she swore. "I promise, and when I make a promise I keep it." Tipping her head back she frowned. "Do you want me to go?"
"Never," he turned fully to face her.
"Good," she spun on her heel, "because I have every intention of finding a way to get that thing out of you, and then your siblings."
"Why do you care so much?" He tilted his head.
"They're your family," she shrugged. "And there's a little girl being forced to grow up without her, admittedly dysfunctional, family. I might not like Klaus, but that doesn't mean I'll knowingly condemn him to never seeing his child again. So I'm going to exhaust every resource I've got, every contact I've made until I find out how to help you."
"Is that why we're in London?" He cocked an eyebrow. He had been under the impression they left the states to ensure there was a vast distance between him and the siblings he couldn't see.
"Yup," she grinned. "I've got another witch friend not far from here, and she's agreed to meet us," she held up her cell phone, "I'm just waiting on a location."
She was certain the coffee shop was just around the corner, granted it had been nearly a decade since she'd walked the streets of London, so her grasp of geography might have been a little off.
She strolled through the streets with Elijah, keeping an eye out for the shop. He had yet to release her hand, so every once in a while she would squeeze his palm reassuringly. He had been in her company for two weeks and in that time she had come to know several things.
One: he was struggling with the knowledge of what he was.
Two: he loathed taking a human life.
Three: his blood lust rivaled that of a newly turned vampire.
She had to assume the last bit was a result of the dark magic residing in him because he had always been a pillar of self-control. Rebekah had told her, and she had relayed the information to him, that the Hollow found the blackness that resided in a person's soul and twisted it to her desire; the ancient witch thrived on chaos, but the best a quarter of her soul could do was increase his hunger.
She made a vow to try and get them out of the city for a while as soon as this meeting was over.
"Is that it?" Elijah nodded to the other side of the street.
Elena followed his gaze to a plain storefront nestled between a small boutique, merchandise spilling out onto the street, and a nail salon. The windows opened into a brightly lit café. The sign declared it as the 'Camden Coffee House'.
"Yeah," she nodded.
They crossed the street and stepped into the warm interior. The sitting area was all but deserted save for a young man nursing some sort of frozen beverage and a young woman on the other side of the store in a red leather chair bouncing a small baby in her arms.
Elena smiled when the woman looked up and crossed the floor to take a seat in a tan chair. Elijah followed sitting in the chair closest to her, not quite trusting himself to get overly close to the other woman and the child that couldn't be more than a few months old.
"Elena," the woman grinned, "you haven't changed a bit."
"Niamh," Elena leaned forward, "I'd say the same, but it looks like something's different."
"I did try to get a sitter," Niamh apologized.
"It's fine," Elena waved off her concern, "I love kids. What's his name?"
"Connor," Niamh turned her son around.
"Hello, Connor, I'm an old friend of your mommy," Elena held up her hand, smiling brightly when the baby's chubby hand wrapped around her index finger.
"How about introducing Connor's mum to your new friend?" Niamh chuckled.
"Right," Elena sat back, smiling sheepishly, "I got momentarily sidetracked. This is Elijah. Elijah this is my friend Niamh ó Cuinn."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Ó Cuinn."
"Likewise," Niamh held out her hand for him to shake and felt her eyes widen. He was much older than he looked.
"We've got a situation," Elena's voice dropped to a whisper, "I thought you might be able to help."
"I can try."
Three cups of coffee sat on the café table, all half drunk, between the supernatural beings. Aside from the mugs the only other thing on the table was a sleek mac.
Elena cocked an eyebrow while bouncing baby Connor in her arms. The last time she had seen Niamh she was working out of an extensive grimoire collection.
"You've gone digital?"
"Those books were getting a little heavy," Niamh smirked, fitting a thumb drive in place. "I'm toting around so much these days," her smile softened for her son, "that I thought I'd lighten my load."
"You had a lot of books," Elena scrunched up her nose for the baby.
"I made a project of it during my eighth month. It took a few weeks, but I managed to scan every last grimoire." She tapped a few buttons on the keyboard and met the brunette's eyes. "Did you bring it?"
Elena nodded and moved to reach into her pocket only to realize she didn't have a free hand. Turning to Elijah she smiled.
"Would you mind?"
"Oh…" his eyes widened when he realized what she was asking him. "I… I… probably shouldn't. I don't think I've ever held a child and I don't want to hurt him."
Elena bit back her smile at the sight of the flustered Original.
"You won't," she met his eyes, "I'm certain Niamh over here will kill you if you try."
"I thought I couldn't die?" He cocked an eyebrow.
"Okay," Elena smirked, "she can put you to sleep for a very long time."
He sighed and nodded holding out his arms.
Elena shifted Connor and placed him in the crook of Elijah's elbow, grinning when the boy stared at him with wide eyes. She admired the ease with which he held the baby while reaching into her small purse. Extracting a small thumb drive, still in the packaging, she opened it and handed it to Niamh.
"I asked around," Niamh plugged in the new USB, "and I took a cursory look through my collection but I couldn't come up with anything. So," she pressed a few buttons and made a full copy, "I'll give you everything I've got and the name of a witch with a much more in depth knowledge of… let's say the darker things in life."
"Dark magic?" Elena whispered.
"No," she shook her head, "just an expert. You studied English and History, she specialized in another branch of history… the lesser known histories."
Niamh extracted the newly minted grimoire and reached into a small pocket of the diaper bag in the stroller. Setting a phial filled with a violet liquid beside the USB she met Elena and Elijah's eyes.
"I can't do much for your bigger issues, but," she nodded to the phial, "if you drink that you should get back your memories. I'd wait though," she held up a hand when Elena picked up the concoction, "part of the spell will put you to sleep instantly until your memories are returned and because of your age you'll be out for a while."
"You're sure this will work?" Elijah frowned at the innocuous liquid.
"I can't be sure until you take it and get back to me…" Niamh reached for her son when he began to fuss, "… but I'm fairly certain."
Elena stepped out of the steaming shower reluctantly and reached for a towel to sop the majority of the water from her hair before moving on to her body. The hotel was a reasonably nice one with excellent water pressure and extremely soft towels that practically caressed her skin.
She had fully intended to get dressed in the bathroom but when she looked at the counter she remembered exactly where she had left her clothes; the small pile still sat on the bed she had claimed for the evening.
Sighing she secured the towel around under her arms and pulled open the door, nearly swearing when collided with a warm chest.
Instinctively her hands came up to grasp his shoulders, and his fell to her waist.
"We really have to stop meeting like this darling," Elijah smirked. His eyes flickered down to the towel beginning to slip. "This is how rumors begin."
Attempting to hide her giggle failed miserably, and even if she had succeeded her eyes still sparkled with amusement.
"You could always try not running into me," she cocked an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure you can hear me moving about."
"You could always try wearing clothes," he countered. He rubbed small circles over the towel heating the skin underneath. "Although," his eyes flickered down again, "I'm rather fond of this ensemble."
"Really," she tilted her head.
"Mm," he nodded, "the material suits you."
"It wouldn't look better on the floor?" Her lips lifted in a smirk when his eyes darkened.
"No," his voice dropped, "it would look better tossed into a fair corner of the room."
They both heard her heart thump.
It took what little control he had to keep from proving his point and tossing the towel aside so he could touch her bare skin.
Elena bit her bottom lip, eyes darting to his lips for a brief moment before returning to his gaze. A whisper of longing traveled the length of her spine as he searched her gaze. Clearing her throat delicately she closed her eyes and took a step back with a small smile.
"I should get dressed," she stepped around him and picked up the small pile. Flashing him a lingering glance over her shoulder she walked back into the bathroom. "We wouldn't want to start any rumors."
She heard his chuckle when she shut the door and had to clench her fists to keep from wrenching the wood from its hinges, giving substantial evidence to any whisper that could ever circulate.
When she emerged again dressed in purple pajama pants and a black tank top she found him sitting at the table staring at the phial they had gotten from Niamh earlier in the day. His playfulness had receded to be replaced by a look of contemplation; he glanced up from the liquid when she slid into the opposite chair.
"Do you trust her?"
"I do," she met his eyes. "Niamh knows her stuff to. Knowing your memories were compelled away makes restoring them easy; that potion will work."
She crossed her arms on the table, leaning forward and tilting her head. She could see his hesitation in his eyes, and found it surprising given the strong desire he had felt to regain what had been lost.
"What's up?"
"You said I chose to give up my memory," he set the phial down on the table and sighed, "to ensure my niece was safe."
"According to Rebekah," Elena nodded.
"You knew me before." He leaned over the table towards her and tilted his head, searching her features. "Do you think I'd do as Rebekah said? Do you think I would go running to my brother's aid if he were to…?"
"Descend into madness?" She supplied.
"Let's go with that," he chuckled.
Elena wanted to reassure him, to tell him she had faith that he wouldn't do it, but the words wouldn't come out because she knew they weren't true and she had vowed a long time ago to never lie to him again.
"I think you would," she nodded, "go running to him if you thought he needed help. I know you would."
She blinked when he picked up the phial and stared at it; a thousand years were held in the palm of his hand for what felt an eternity. Her eyes widened when he turned the small bottle over and placed it in her hand.
"Elijah?" She frowned. "I thought you wanted your memory back."
"I do," he inhaled slowly, "but I'll be destroying my family by reclaiming them."
"I thought you didn't care," she cocked an eyebrow. Hope swelled in her chest, fluttering beneath her ribs; did he care?
"I don't," he sighed, "but you do. I find it astounding that you could after what you told me they did to you; it's remarkable really."
"I've been told I care too much," she tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear.
"You've got a compassionate soul Elena," he reached for her hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles, "caring is your gift."
She smiled softly, glancing down at their joined hands and the phial between her fingers.
"What do you want to do?"
"I want you to put that away," he tapped the bottle.
"For a rainy day?" She smirked.
"I was thinking a sunny one," he chuckled. "Tuck it away where I won't find it until such a time that this Hollow business is sorted out."
He placed a card on the table between them, drawing Elena's eyes to the green paper.
"We're going to Manosque," she smiled. Standing up she fingered the bottle while considering where to place it.
"You don't have to come," he stood with her.
"Trying to get rid of me?" She cocked an eyebrow and set the phial down.
"Never," he swore. Snaking his arm around her waist he pulled her into his chest. "I just wanted to give you one last chance to change your mind, come to your senses, gain some self-preservation, run for the hills…"
"When are you going to realize that I have no sense of self-preservation?" She slid her arms up and around his neck, tangling her fingers in his soft hair.
"It'll sink in eventually," he chuckled.
Leaning down he captured her lips in a sweet kiss that surprised him more than it did her; he had been planning on ravaging her mouth and leaving her breathless. He brought his hands up to hold her face in a tender embrace and deepened the kiss while raking his fingers through her damp hair.
Elena parted her lips at the gentle sweep of his tongue and felt her knees turn to water causing her to nearly collapse against him. A decade of knowing each other, two weeks in constant company together and three kisses spanning the entire time.
The first kiss had been meant for someone else. The second kiss came out of nowhere taking them both by surprise, but the third one… the third one had been nearly two weeks in the making.
She would have been perfectly content to spend the rest of her unnaturally long life in his arms sharing languid kisses. A gasp fell from her lips when he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth and nibbled the kiss swollen flesh.
Holding the side of her face he gently tipped up her chin and started kissing along her jawline. The quick breaths falling from her lips were music to his ears, her soft moan when he slipped his hand beneath her shirt.
Elena's head tipped back when he nibbled on her neck leaving behind a bruise that would fade in a few minutes time. She walked backwards as his kisses moved to her shoulder and felt the edge of the mattress hit the back of her legs.
She took a fistful of his shirt and pulled him onto the bed with her, reconnecting their lips when her back hit the mattress and running her hands up his back.
Caroline paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. She had been wearing a hole in the antique carpet for the past twenty minutes and was certain Stefan or Damon would make a smart remark about her actions if they were to walk in and see her.
She came to a stop at the coffee table and sighed.
"Anything?"
Bonnie shook her head and fell back on her knees, closing her eyes and sighing when strong hands started kneading the tension from her shoulders.
"Mind telling us why you're seeking out the big bad wolf, Gorgeous?"
"She always did have a thing for accents," Bonnie chuckled, "and she's definitely got a type: well-traveled, charming accent, and murky morals."
"Sounds like your type."
"I clearly have terrible taste," Bonnie scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"That hurts, love."
Bonnie shifted so she was sitting cross legged and tipped her head back to look at Caroline.
"The closest I can get is Italy," she sighed, "I'm literally getting nothing else… aside from a craving for Italian." She glanced back at Enzo. "What do you think the odds are of talking Stefan into cooking me dinner?"
"Unlikely," Caroline huffed, "he's not here right now. Took off to Atlanta to pick up some part for that car he's restoring."
"Couldn't just mail it?" Bonnie cocked an eyebrow.
"Nope," Caroline rolled her eyes and made finger quotes, "its 'too-valuable-too-rare-to-be-delivered-Caroline'. Men," she snorted.
"On behalf of my gender…"
"Don't even go there right now," Caroline held up her hand.
Bonnie decided it would be best to steer the conversation back to the reason for their visit to the Boarding School.
"Closest I can get you is Italy, but why are you looking for him anyway?"
Caroline's eyes moved from Enzo to Bonnie. Biting her cheek to keep from taking out her annoyance on the friend who really didn't deserve it she spoke through gritted teeth.
"Let's just say it's time for a parent teacher conference."
Sorry for the delay. I meant to finish this chapter yesterday, but it's been one of those weeks.