The day of the doctor's appointment arrived and Elena gripped Elijah's hand as they drove towards Roanoke. Her knee bounced up and down and she chewed on the inside of her cheek.
"Have the Bennetts figured out how to destroy the Phoenix Stone?" Elijah asked, in an effort to distract her.
She was grateful that he was allowing her to think about something other than what they were doing. She was excited, but she was afraid that if she thought too much about it, she'd start crying before they ever got to the office.
"Bonnie thinks they may need to find her mother, so there are three Bennett witches to destroy it. I told Bonnie to contact me if they need a little bit of an extra boost, but Bonnie said she thinks they can handle it, at least for now."
"And with Abby around, we could get Esther's coffin opened and get some of her blood to free Freya when the time comes," Elijah commented.
"There's that." Elena squinted. "I hope she'll like me."
"I'm sure she'll love you." Elijah asked after a moment's consideration, going through the list of things they needed to to prevent the horrors of Elena's other life. "Is there a way to destroy the prison world that the Heretics are in?"
"We'll have to contact the Gemini coven about that, but they need Kai alive, just in case something happens to their current set of twins."
"As long as they don't start trouble, I think we can manage whatever they decide."
"Between them and the Travelers, the next few months should be interesting." Elijah chuckled once, dryly. He'd seen Elena's memories of what happened with them, the horrors done, the lives lost. "We'll do everything we can to keep them from doing what they did before."
"As long as we're in New Orleans before Hope is born, I think we can manage." She didn't want to think about the former dead. She couldn't. It would destroy the coming moments of happiness, where she was making plans to start a family with the man she loved.
By this point, they pulled into the doctor's office and Elena's heart started pounding.
Catching her hand, Elijah kissed her knuckles, "Breathe, Elena."
Elena nodded once and smiled nervously as she said, "It's not like they'll be doing an insemination today anyway," she said.
"Exactly. We have time to plan and pick a donor."
Elijah came around to her side of the car and opened the door.
"Come along."
When they walked into the office, there were four other women in the waiting room. Two of the women all looked at Elijah up and down appreciatively, clearly wondering what a man who looked like him was doing in a fertility clinic. The other two smiled at them and linked their fingers together, a clear indication that they were a couple.
Elena picked up the clipboard with the intake form on it and sat down. Elijah took the chair beside her and ran his hand up and down her back slowly.
As she wrote her answers, she could hear two of the women whispering among themselves.
"What business it is of theirs if I'm in this office with you?" Elijah muttered, his brows furrowing.
"I doubt they have a partner who looks and dresses the way you do, or at least a partner who's not ashamed to be see in a clinic like this. Because apparently, sterility is something to be ashamed of, no matter what your gender is."
Standing up, she walked over to the receptionist and turned in her forms. As she headed back to her seat, she caught the eye of one of the women who'd been stealing glances at Elijah and raised her eyebrow.
Elena shook her head lightly and returned to Elijah's side. He wrapped his arm around her and pressed his lips to the side of her head.
"What are they saying?" Elena whispered.
"The couple is happy that I came in with you, because it shows that I'm supporting you one hundred percent. They assume, correctly, that I'm the one who can't have children. But the other two women are a little less understanding."
"Of course they are."
One by one the other women were called back and Elena's nerves spiked again as her own appointment time approached.
Finally, the nurse opened the door and called, "Elena Gilbert."
They stood up and followed the nurse back to an examination room.
After the nurse did a quick examination, she left, with the promise that the doctor would be in shortly.
A few minutes later, the doctor entered the room.
"Good morning," the doctor greeted them with a smile.
"Good morning," Elena returned.
"This will be a little different, since we're just doing a preliminary examination and not making immediate plans to do an insemination, but it will give us a baseline."
"That sounds good."
"So, I understand that Elijah is sterile?" the doctor glanced at Elijah to confirm what she was reading, "due to a childhood illness."
"Yes," he confirmed.
"And Elena, as far as you know, you think you should be able to conceive. This is your first time in a fertility clinic, so you're not one hundred percent certain, but you haven't had any issues that would prevent you from carrying a baby so far."
"That's correct."
"Alright, so we'll just be double checking that you are able to conceive, and then we'll start tracking your cycle." The doctor pulled out a pen and started making notes.
"What all will you need to do?" Elijah asked, curious now.
"An ultrasound and some blood work to start and then we'll talk about a timeline in which you'd like to have this done."
"I know I'm young, but I also know what I want and giving my fiance a child is the best thing I can think of doing for him." Elena tightened her grip on Elijah's fingers and smiled up at him.
After several more questions, the doctor stopped writing and slid her pen back into her pocket.
"So, I'll have a nurse take you to the lab so we can start the blood work and then we'll get you in to have an ultrasound done."
Once the doctor was gone, Elena leaned against Elijah and sighed happily. One step closer to Elijah being a father and her getting her children from her other life back.
"We're really doing this," he murmured as he kissed her temple.
"We are." Elena laughed. "We're gonna have a baby."
Elijah ran his hand slowly up and down her back and Elena matched her breathing to his. God, she loved him, so much and now they were taking another step towards making their life as good as it could possibly be in the land of the living.
Ten minutes later, Elena found herself lying on the examination table.
"Alright. Are you ready?" the ultrasound tech ask as she pulled out the gel. "I have to warn you, it's cold."
The tech poured the cool fluid onto her stomach and Elena jumped at the sensation.
As the tech moved the wand over her stomach, she frowned, then focused on an area near her uterus.
"Um, Miss Gilbert, do you think your fiance could leave the room? I need to ask you something in private."
Elena looked at Elijah sharply, then at the tech. What was the woman seeing that had her so worried? She lifted her head and looked at the screen, her heart stilling when she realized what the tech was seeing.
"That's not right," Elena whispered. "It's not right!"
There had to be something to be wrong with the equipment, because this was not supposed to be possible!
"You know what I'm looking at?" the tech asked, surprise.
"I can't be pregnant! I can't be!" Elena shrieked.
"I'm going to get the doctor in here. We'll see if we can get this sorted out," the tech said as she cleaned the gel off Elena's stomach.
Tears poured down her cheeks and she looked up at Elijah. "There's no one else. There's no way. I wouldn't do that to you!"
"I know, Elena. I know." Elijah kissed the top of her head.
"I'm not a cheater. I'm not." Her heart was breaking now. Would he leave her, believing she'd betrayed him in the most intimate of ways?
"I believe you. We'll figure this out." Through her shock, she heard Elijah's voice catch and it broke her heart. No. No. She couldn't hurt him like this. What was happening to her?
The doctor entered the room and closed the door softly behind her.
"Elena?" she called softly.
Elena brushed her tears out of her face and she blinked hard. This couldn't be happening!
"Is it possible that you're not as sterile as you believe?" the doctor asked Elijah gently.
"I don't know." Elijah shook his head, his brows furrowed.
"I didn't cheat, I swear." Elena was shaking now, tears still flowing down her cheeks. Was she going to lose Elijah in her effort to get her children back?
"I know, Elena. I know."
"Alright. If you want, we can explore this further, to see if we can figure out how this happened?"
"I think we'd like a few days to process this, but thank you for your time," Elijah said as he helped Elena stand. "Before you say anything, Doctor, I know Elena and trust her, and she would never betray me this way."
"Chances are that you might not be quite as sterile as the doctor who tested you believed, so I hope today's events are a happy surprise."
"Once the shock wears off, I'll be more than happy to be pregnant with Elijah's baby, but for now, I'd just like to go home and rest so I can process this."
"Of course."
She was shaking so badly when she stood up that Elijah scooped her into his arms and carried her out to the car. Elena pressed her face into his throat and wrapped her arms around his neck. How was he able to be so calm with what was going on inside her body?
They were nearing Mystic Falls, Elena finally spoke, "How is this possible?"
"The Spirits of Nature brought you back, so anything is possible. Perhaps a few spells will help us understand exactly how it happened."
Elena nodded once. If only she could process what was going on, because she wanted to be happy. But until she figured out how she was pregnant and had proof that Elijah was indeed the father, she had to regulate her expectations.
"How are you feeling?" Elijah asked.
"Once I know what's going on with me and how, I'll let you know. Because I want to believe that this is your baby, so much."
"Whether you're carrying my biological child or not, I'm still the father."
Elena smiled at him, relief sinking into her bones.
They pulled into the drive in front of the mansion and Elijah pulled to a stop in the garage, then came around to open her door.
"I don't need proof," he whispered, brushing a lock of hair out of her face.
"I just- I can't believe it." Elena laughed and choked back tears. "I'll be a teen mother, pregnant in high school, but that's a small price to pay for this."
"If anyone says anything about you carrying my child, I'll deal with it."
She giggled at the thought, then said, "It's twins. My children, they've come back to me."
A wide smile crossed his face and he wrapped his arms around her, pressing his cheek against her hair.
"Twins. Both of them come back at once?"
"Yes."
"I love you. I love you so much." He leaned back and kissed her forehead.
"I love you," Elena mumbled. "Before we get carried away, I need to know how and if it can be recreated in someone else." She mouthed 'Rebekah'.
"Do you think it's possible?"
"If this is possible," she framed her belly with one hand, "then why not?"
Elijah nodded and then caught Elena in his arms once more then darted up the stairs.
Once they were in their bedroom, Elena pulled out some candles and set them in a circle. Taking a deep breath, she sat down in the center of the circle and all at once, the candles lit up.
"How is this possible?" Elena asked aloud.
Images flashed through her thoughts, the potion Elijah had given her, the sensation of being caught between life and death, and then Elijah drinking her blood, and a knowledge of why nature allowed this.
When the candles went out, Elena stood up.
"What is it?" Elijah asked.
"Nature allowed me to carry your children because it abhors a vacuum and Hope needs allies as strong as she is, to save the people she will come to love. So whoever existed in this other life, they will come into being again this time around, in ways that suit this new timeline better. Rebekah and Marcel had children in this other life, so Nature found a way for her children to exist this time as well, in a way that won't completely go against the rules she created for herself."
"So my sister will be able to have the children she's longed for and the children you're carrying are of my blood."
"I want to name our son after Henrik. Henry Grayson, maybe?"
"So my lost brother will live on in my son." Elijah smiled, brushing her hair out of her face. "What about Astrid for our daughter? Astrid was a name I wanted to give whatever daughter I had when I was human. So in them, the family we loved and lost and the dreams we thought were long dead are come back to life."
"I want to keep this a secret for a little bit though. Let us have this moment before we have to deal with the deluge of questions."
"Until Hayley reveals her pregnancy, this will remain between us." Elijah pulled Elena towards the bed and they laid down face to face.
Elena reached out and caught his hand, placing it on her stomach.
"What if I become my father?" He looked up at her, his dark eyes terrified.
"You won't. Your heart is too good for that. You and Klaus will be fathers together and once we perfect the formula, Rebekah will have her dreams fulfilled as well."
"You've truly saved my family." Tears filled his eyes and he smiled again. "You've given us the lives our mother and aunt stole from us."
This would be their secret, until the time was right to reveal it. This moment was all about them and the wonder of the fact that she was carrying children that weren't meant to exist.