Chapter 11 Always and Forever
Elijah sat alone at the bar in Rousseau's thinking to himself. How was he going to solve Niklaus's newest problem quickly and efficiently? He had only left Ethan with Sam an hour ago and he already couldn't wait to get back. He wanted this whole situation to be over. That was when the beautiful blond bartender came over to him. She had a name tag that read Camille.
"Been nursing that drink for a while. Penny for your thoughts?" the bartender asked Elijah. "I'm actually looking for someone. Jane Anne Deveroux. I was told I could find her here." Elijah replied. "You came at a bad time. She is usually here with her sister Sophie. But if you are in a hurry you had best find Sabine Laurent. She is usually giving tours down bourbon street at this time." the blond replied. "Thank you, Camille. You have been very helpful." Elijah said before downing his drink and getting ready to leave. "You are very welcome. And please don't call me Camille. It makes me feel old. Please call me Cami." Elijah smiled at Cami before giving his final word and going to find Sabine, "Then thank you Cami and have a nice evening."
While Elijah sat at the bar in Rousseau's, Sam sat in front of the TV in Elijah's penthouse apartment watching some trashy reality TV show about home renovations when a loud scream came from Elijah's room. Sam jumped up from the sofa and ran down the hall and into the room where she found Ethan screaming and thrashing in his crib. He seemed to still be sleeping. Sam reached into the crib to pull Ethan out and hopefully comfort him. She then held him tight in her arms and whispered softly into his ears as she bounced him, "Shhhhh, little one. There is nothing to be afraid of. You are safe. Shhhh," She repeated these words over and over again for about 5 minutes before Ethan finally stopped screaming and once again was snoring in her arms.
As Sam placed him back into his crib and looked down at Ethan's sleeping form, she had a strange feeling like he had grown. He seemed bigger now than he did this morning. His clothes also seemed tighter. But she just let the suspicions slide from her mind. It must just be my tired eyes. Sam thought to herself as she left the room and went back to her place on the sofa.
Meanwhile, Elijah had found Sabine and had just come across a group of witches surrounding Jane-Anne's dead body in the middle of the road. He hid when Marcel and his vampires came calling. When the confrontation was over and the witches left Elijah called his sister Rebekah.
"Long time no talk, Brother," Rebekah answered the phone with the usual sass. "Indeed, and I am sorry I haven't called lately. But it seems our brother has gotten himself into a mess again and I could use your help." Elijah spoke into the phone as he walked back to Bourbon Street and Rousseau's Bar. "I have had enough with Nik's stupid games and problems. He abandoned us both back in Mystic Falls. I am not helping him with anything." Rebekah stated from the other end of the line. "I understand your hesitation to come but if you change your mind please call me. We are in New Orleans." With that, Elijah hung up the phone and dialed Sam's number.
"Hey, Sam here." Came a voice from the phone. "It's Elijah. I just wanted to call and give you an update." Elijah replied right away. "Great," answered Sam's voice again. "I've just got some more information about what is going on here but not enough to know exactly why my brother is being brought back here. How is Ethan doing?" "He is still asleep but it seemed he had a nightmare earlier. He was thrashing in his sleep." Sam spoke but before Elijah could interrupt with his fatherly concern Sam calmed his mind. "Now don't worry. He is fine now. Just keep going with your investigation. We will be just fine." Elijah took a calming breath before agreeing with Sam and hanging up the phone.
Elijah's night continued as he found Sophie Deveroux behind Rousseau's and followed her back to Lafayette Cemetery. When they reached the cemetery gate Elijah stopped. He didn't want the Deveroux sister to know that he had already been invited in earlier in the day. Sophie turned to Elijah and smirked, "This is sacred ground. Vampires need to be invited in. But seeing as I'm desperate, come on in." Sophie then turned around and kept walking and Elijah followed. They walked into the center of the grounds. Passing by the Delacroix crypt and into another one a few tombs down.
Sam awoke to the sound of babbling coming from the baby monitor by her side. She checked the time and noticed it was already almost 9 pm. She had slept through Ethan's usual feeding time. "That must be why he is awake," Sam said to herself as she made her way back toward Elijah's room and Ethan within.
She opened the door and stopped. To her complete shock, standing in the crib by the window wasn't a wobbly one-year-old, but instead, a happy, babbling toddler who stood firm on his two feet and reached out for her. "Am...Am" he said with his hands stretched out toward her. "This can't be," Sam whispered as he slowly walked over to the toddler in the crib. "Someone must have been in here and taken Ethan." She began to panic until she reached the crib. Looking up at her were those beautiful blue eyes that she had come to know and love. This was definitely Ethan. But how?
Sam reached into the crib and lifted the brown-haired boy into her arms. He laid his head on her shoulder and babbled again, "Am...Am" as he patted his chubby fingers against her face. "Am?" she wondered as she walked out of the room toward the kitchen to get him something to eat. Sam placed Ethan into the high chair by the table that seemed to be getting too small for Ethan's sudden growth spurt. She was cutting up some apple slices when it clicked, "Am! Sam, that is what you were trying to say! Am is Sam!" She stated proudly as she turned back to Ethan and placed the plate of apples in front of him.
"Now that we have that mystery out of the way. Now we need to start figuring out what's happening to you." Sam slouched down in the chair next to Ethan and watched as the new-aged toddler munched happily on the apples in front of him. "I think this could constitute an emergency. I need to call your dad." Sam stood from the table to retrieve her phone.
After a few attempts, Elijah finally answered his phone. "Elijah, finally. I have been trying to reach you for half an hour." Sam spoke hastily into the phone. "I apologize, I was having a conversation with my brother. What seems to be the problem?" Elijah replied as stoic as ever. "Something is going on with Ethan. I think you need to come back and see for yourself." This was enough to throw Elijah into a bit of a panic. Sam heard it in his voice as he replied. "I will be right there." A slight crack in his voice flowed through the phone speaker on Sam's end before she heard the line go dead.
Sam sat on the floor with Ethan playing with his toy piano when the front door swung open to reveal Elijah. His suit was slightly ripped and it looked like it had been in a fight without Elijah in it. As soon as Sam's head turned in his direction, so did Ethan's. Joy sparkled in the little boy's blue eyes as he saw his father. He stood up and waddled over to Elijah squealing, "Dada" as he went. Elijah watched in complete shock as his 1 year old charged over to him with open arms. Elijah squatted down and lifted Ethan into the air and held him on his hip as he looked the boy up and down. This was definitely his son, but he had grown.
"What happened?" Elijah asked in a hushed tone as he walked over to Sam still seated on the carpet. "I have no idea. After I checked on him after his nightmare, he was standing in his crib just like this. It looks like he aged almost a year in a couple of hours." Sam rubbed her face with her hands before looking back at Elijah. "I don't know what happened." "It's alright. We will figure this out." Elijah looked back at Ethan as the boy in his arms yawned and placed his head on his father's shoulder. "But for now I think he needs to get some more rest." Elijah stood and made his way back toward his room. He placed the toddler back into the crib and made his way over to the piano. Sitting down, he began to play. The soft lullaby floated quietly out the door toward Sam who had placed herself back on the sofa and now too was falling asleep.
Elijah watched as Ethan closed his eyes and fell back asleep. He got up and placed a soft kiss on his son's head before making his way back to Sam who was now also asleep. He pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled a little note for Sam before once again leaving the apartment. His day was not quite done yet.