I kissed Matt.
Elena stared at the text from Caroline and shook her head. So this was meant to happen too.
And it felt nice.
When?
The night of the decade dance. You're not mad, are you?
Not in the slightest. I care about Matt, but I haven't been in love with him in a while. If he makes you happy, go for it.
Elena slid her phone into her pants pocket and headed down the stairs right as someone knocked on the door.
Opening it, she found Damon on the other side of it. He smirked when she saw him.
"What do you want, Damon?" Elena snapped.
"You and Elijah. I want to know how you know how to open the tomb."
"Talk to Elijah. I'm done with you." Elena slammed the door in his face.
"He won't talk to me!"
"Maybe because you're not worth talking to," Elena muttered as she walked away.
He pounded on the door, but Elena refused to answer it.
"Who's at the door?" Jenna asked, toweling her damp hair as she came down the stairs.
"Damon Salvatore. I hate him, so I'm not letting him inside, and neither should you. No matter what, do not invite him inside."
"He's bothering you?"
"Very much so."
Jenna jerked the door open. "Leave my niece alone and take your pervy obsessions elsewhere."
Before Damon could reply, Jenna slammed the door in his face.
"Damn, that felt good!"
Just then, Elena's phone buzzed and she saw a message from Bonnie.
Ben McKittrick, is he safe?
Stay the HELL away from him!
Why?
He's a vampire, or at least he was this time last time around.
Seriously?
I can ask Elijah to meet him if you don't believe me.
OMG! Damn it. Why are all the hot ones jerks or vampires? Thanks for the warning.
Stay safe.
Satisfied that Ben wouldn't be able to use Bonnie this time around to try to get into Anna's good graces, Elena made her way to the front porch and sat down, pushing the swing slowly back and forth. One thing changed, one thing staying the same. Was that to be her lot in life?
Footsteps on the deck made her look up and she found Elijah, followed by Anna coming towards her.
"How went the grave robbing?"
"I've got the grimore," he held up the book, "and Giuseppe Salvatore has been returned to his slumber."
"Not that he deserves it, from what I gather."
"You got that right," Anna muttered.
"So, when's the big day? When do we free Pearl and whoever else Anna thinks won't hate every single member of the Founding Families?"
"Tomorrow night." Anna bounced a little and a smile lit up her face.
"I seriously considered feeding a certain very pushy mayor's wife to Pearl."
"Elijah." Elena raised an eyebrow in his direction.
"Not to worry. I've procured enough blood bags that she'll be strong enough to not to need to feed for a few days."
"All of you will need to be very careful and lay low, unless you want to die again." Elena glanced at Anna.
"How do you know things? Elijah made it sound like you've got information that the rest of us don't have."
"I can't tell you, not without destroying everything I'm fighting to save. But I can tell you that if you don't listen, and kill anyone in that tomb who means the Founding Families harm, you won't survive," Elena pleaded. "Elijah can only protect so many people, even if he is one of the strongest vampires in the world. As long as the list of people he needs to think about is smallish, we have a better chance of saving everyone."
"You've seen things, haven't you?" Anna guessed.
Elena shook her head in a manner meant to keep Anna from asking more questions, and kept her mouth shut.
"How? You're human."
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Elena wrapped her arms around her middle and stared off into the distance as images from her previous life played out in her head, engulfing her in everything she'd endured already.
She couldn't make it stop. She fought the images, struggled to find a grip on reality, but nothing came. She couldn't fight against the tidal wave of everything she'd fought before and was now being forced to endure again. It was all too much. Make it stop. Please someone, make it stop.
All at once, Elijah's voice cut through the haze, "Come back to me, Elena. Hear my voice and come back. I apologize for removing the vervain, but you need to come back."
Elena blinked a few times, and Elijah's concerned face came into focus.
"It hurts," she whispered. "It hurts."
"I know. Come back to me."
"Why me? Why did they pick me?"
"Because you're good and kind, and you want to save people, even if saving them does nothing for you."
"I want to go back. Why won't they take me back? What did I do that was so horrible?"
"It's not because you did something so horrible, it's because they know you'll do everything you can to make things better for those who got hurt, not just for you." Elijah drew her close, cradling her gently against his chest. "They didn't choose you to punish you. They chose you because you were the only one directly involved who would do things selflessly when not under the thumb of controlling people."
"But it hurts," Elena sobbed. "It hurts to much. I can't take it anymore."
"I know. I know." He cradled the back of her head tenderly against his chest.
"Make it stop. Please, make it stop."
"I can't. You know I can't. Making it stop would mean making you forget, and that would mean that the pain you've already endured would be for nothing."
Elena dug her fingers into his shirt, clinging to him, inhaling the scent of his cologne, his soap, him. It was Elijah with his arms wrapped around her. Elijah, the strongest vampire in the world, the only one she truly trusted, wanting to keep her safe. She had to make it through this, for him.
"What happened?" Anna whispered.
"Don't feed Jeremy to your mom. Please. He's my little brother and fighting for his happiness, making sure he makes it out of this alright, it's one of the few things that makes what I went through worth it."
Anna studied Elena's face, then said, "I'll be careful with your brother. And for the record, I actually do like him. He's sweet. Free my mother and he's safe from her."
"Thank you."
With a slight smile, Anna inclined her head and walked away.
Once they were alone, Elijah held Elena close, allowing her to absorb as much of his strength as her fragile human body could take. She buried her cheek deeper into his chest, her nose brushing against his color bone, her lips pressed caressing his chest.
###
"Good evening," Elijah greeted the Bennett and Martin witches.
"Pearl and whoever Anna deems worth saving only," Sheila confirmed.
"And Katherine," Damon spoke up, entering the clearing.
"Katherine's not down there," Elena said. "She's never been down there."
"How do you know?" Damon challenged.
"Because she approached me in the early '60s with a deal and I turned her down," Elijah said, his voice even. "She had nothing I wanted though, so I haven't seen her since."
"And I saw her in the '80s," Anna confirmed.
"You're wrong!" Damon denied.
"Do you really think that a human girl who was willing to let others die for her to escape my brother's wrath five hundred years ago would be honest and remain in a tomb for over a century, suffering desiccation in the process?" Elijah folded his hands behind his back and cocked his head.
Enzo appeared behind Damon and broke his neck, then said, "Sorry, I'm late."
"Now that he's down, let's get started." Anna looked towards the ruins of the church, then back towards the party in the distance. "We don't have much time before Jeremy realizes I'm missing."
"This way." Elijah led the way down the steps he'd cleared earlier.
The witches circled the underground area slowly then formed a loose circle.
"Air," Jonas conjured a gust of wind as he lit one torch.
"Earth." Lucas lit another.
"Fire." Sheila lit a third.
"Water." Bonnie poured out the container in her hands.
Anna dropped a bag she'd carried onto the ground, then checked it for blood bags before she moved closer to the door.
"We're ready," Sheila said.
"Where's Ben? He's not gonna crash this is he?" Elena demanded.
"I killed him for threatening Jeremy," Anna said. "Now, let's get started. Free my mother and I'll be in debt to all four of you, and I repay my debts with interest."
The four witches started chanting and then the torches flamed up. Elena found herself shrinking behind Elijah as the torches flared higher. She'd forgotten how magic affected things so strongly. She could feel it, coursing through her, as though she was a part of the spell.
Finally, the door cracked open.
"Get your mother and whoever else you deem worthy of saving. We kill the rest," Jonas said.
"Harper and a few others. The rest will only want trouble."
Anna disappeared inside, and a few moments past before a few bodies were thrown out of the crypt, followed by Anna cradling a desiccated vampire in her arms.
"Burn the rest." Anna put a blood bag to the other vampires' lips, then, knelt beside her mother.
Cradling the gray vampire in her arms, she lifted the blood bag aloft.
"Come back, Mom."
After a few seconds of blood bags draining into her, the corpse regained color and she finished the bag quickly. Anna fed her a few more before wrapping her arms around her.
"I missed you, so much."
"Anna, Annabel, my sweet girl."
"Maybe Elijah should get the other guys somewhere he can explain the new rules of society and they can get some new clothes before my brother starts looking for you," Elena said.
"You won't hurt her?" Anna asked, eyes wide, as she cradled her mother's trembling body against her.
"I promise. She'll be just as alive then as she is now." Elena glanced at Elijah.
"And while you're dealing with them, we'll deal with the rest," Jonas said.
"I thank you and I am deeply in your debt." Elijah inclined his head.
"You are a man of your word and you pay back what you owe." Jonas raised his arms and started to chant.
Before Elena was sure exactly what the spell would do, Elijah flashed away, with her in his arms.
When they came to a stop, Elena found herself in a place she recognized as the mansion Klaus renovated the first time around. Anna, Pearl, Harper, and two other vampires she didn't recognize stared at their new surroundings.
"I have clothes of various sizes that should fit you, and more blood." Elijah gestured to each item as he spoke. "Get changed and feed on the blood bags until you're satisfied, then we'll talk new century rules."
"Women dress very differently now," Pearl commented, examining Elena's outfit with a critical eye.
"Yes, we do. And you'll be fitting in in no time." Elena smiled, remembering how quickly Pearl had adjusted the last time.
"I'm gonna go over to Bonnie's for a bit. I've gotta make sure."
"Slater's here with his car. He'll take you wherever you need to go."
"Slater?"
"He heard that the doppelganger was here and he wanted to meet you. So I decided to use his curiosity in our favor."
"Okay. Okay. I'm gonna go now. I need to make sure." Elena ran out the door and climbed into Slater's car.
As they drove, Slater kept staring at her.
"Go ahead, say it. I know I look like her. But I'm not her and I'm trying to save as many lives as I possibly can. Now, get me to Bonnie's house as fast as you can. I need to know!" Memories of the first time Sheila had done the spell played thorough her through her mind.
After a few minutes of silence, Slater said, "I don't know what kind of hold you have over Elijah, but whatever it is, I want to stay on your good side."
"Keep your fangs out of the people I care about and keep Katherine's name out of your mouth around me."
"Deal."
"What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Elijah said something about needing to help some vampires who've been out of commission for a few decades find a new life in Richmond. Once he's got them sorted out, I'm to take them with me."
Slater pulled into Sheila's driveway and Elena jumped out almost before the vehicle came to a stop.
"Bonnie?" Elena called as she burst through the door."
"Yeah?" Bonnie closed her grandmother's door behind her.
"How is she?"
"She's a little worn out from the spell, but she's fine."
"No negative side affects, no heart trouble?"
"None. I can check again, if you like."
"Please."
Bonnie opened the door and Elena watched as Sheila breathed evenly for several long moments.
"What happened in this other life of yours?"
"She died and you were left alone in your magic."
"She's fine, Elena. I fed her a little of my blood and she'll sleep off the rest." Enzo joined them then, two cups of tea in his hands. He handed one to Bonnie and one to Elena. "I remember you."
"Me?" Elena took a sip of tea.
"You were a little thing, but you were upset with what your father was doing to me. And now, your fella, Elijah, set me free."
"Told you," Bonnie murmured.
"Don't."
"So, you really saw another timeline," Enzo commented. "Sorry, couldn't help but listen in. Old habit from being locked in a lab."
"You died, were murdered when I was not even twenty-five, in this other life, and I thought, 'after everything my father did to him, and what I know happens, what if we give him a chance to live a life free of that?'"
"Here I am."
"Don't hurt Bonnie. Or I'll stake you myself."
Enzo saluted with his tea cup.
"How'd you convince Sheila to let you inside?" Elena asked.
"The Bennetts were tasked with helping you," Bonnie replied. "And he is supposed to help ground me, somehow. But he does have a calming influence on me."
Ground her. If that's what the spirits of nature wanted to call romance, by all means, go right ahead. Elena smiled into her cup. Another life saved, maybe a few more, depending on how the vampires they'd gotten out of the tomb responded to the new order, and a few more pieces fell into place.
###
"Merry Christmas." Elena handed him a package wrapped in snowflake wrapping paper and his brows furrowed.
"What is this?"
"A Christmas present."
"Do I have to wait to open it until Christmas?"
"Not if you don't want to." Elena gripped one hand with the other behind her back, suddenly nervous.
Elijah tore the paper off and pulled out the black leather bound journal, embossed with a rearing horse.
"Open it." Elena chewed on her lip,
Elijah did as she said and read what she'd written aloud, "For helping me rewrite the story, I owe you everything. Always and forever, Elena." Reaching out, he drew Elena into a hug.
"You didn't have to play by my rules, but you are. You're trying to save the people I care about too," Elena mumbled.
"You're trying to save my family too, so I owe you as much." Elijah brushed her hair out of her face."Now I need to get you a Christmas present."
"You being alive is enough for me." She inhaled his unique scent and sighed.
"That's hardly a present, Elena."
"Seeing you again, I knew there was a chance for our lives to be better. And you're making my life, so much better, just by caring for me."
"You're trying to save my family." Elijah kissed her forehead.
"Saving the people we love and finding that there are possibilities in each other that I didn't let myself consider before."
"Whatever life I had in your future, I don't want that, and I think that deep down, you're afraid that I might meet this woman and decide she's who I want to spend my life with. But I swear it, Elena, how I feel about you, I can honestly say that I've never felt like this before." Elijah brushed her tears away.
"She doesn't have this face and you could be free of it."
"But that means letting go of the most incredible woman I've ever encountered. Why fight for someone who could never hold a candle to you?"
Elena hugged him closer and tucked her head under his chin, and that niggling fear that he'd want Hayley when he met her, was finally silenced.