The eve of the Full Moon.

Everyone's nerves were running high and they where completely on edge, they where trying to push tomorrow to the back of there minds but it was hard, there was a lot at stake if something was to go wrong; Bonnie and Davina had spent a good portion of the morning ensuring the spell was perfect, Klaus had been on and off the phone all morning to his hybrids, they where staying in hiding until the mast minute as there presence in New Orleans had to remain a secret.

Kol and Rebekah had done some training in the basement of the mansion, something they only did this when there was a dangerous battle looming, they often picked up new moves and tricks over the centuries but this time, Rebekah was the one with the advantage as she hadn't been daggered as long as him, he needed practice.

Elena was spending her time with Elijah, neither of them had much to do but sit there and worry about everyone else, they where all busy and she couldn't be alone with her thoughts, she'd drive herself insane. They where both reading todays newspaper, Elijah had lay it flat on the table and they where discussing the days events.

"It's shocking how boring New Orleans is," Elena chuckled lightly, most of the articles consisted of rising fuel prices and the unusual weather, "shall we do the crossword?"

"Indeed," he spoke, before taking a pen out of his jacket pocket; Elena flicked the paper to the back pages and found the crossword, she quickly glanced over it and smiled, "easy enough."

"Historical building in Paris?" Elijah read out loud.

"Easy, it's the Eiffel Tower," Elena answered with a smug grin.

They continued for a short while, just answering the questions and having a little laugh, before she even knew it, it was nearly noon and they had sat together all morning; the paper had been tossed in the trash and now they where just having coffee together.

"Are you sure you don't want to go and help your siblings?" She asked, her voice turning mildly serious, "they might need you."

"I think you need me more, none of us should be alone today," his voice was filled with kindness and he shot her a smile, "I'm quite enjoying your company, so I'm happy to be here."

"Thanks, Elijah," she spoke before taking a large sip of coffee and placing the mug on the table.

"Did you want to talk about all this?" He asked, his eyes locked onto hers, "what are you thinking?"

She paused for a long moment to try and collect her thoughts, her mind was racing and she was struggling to organise it, "I guess I'm just worried the plan won't work and someone gets hurt."

"I understand that," he responded, pausing for a long moment to think, "if anything was to go wrong, we'll have a back up plan and if that doesn't work, we'll get out of there, we're not risking our lives anymore than necessary, I promise everything will be alright."

"How can you promise that?" She asked, finding herself staring into his eyes once again.

"I have faith," he smiled briefly, "I give you my word."

His promise stuck straight in her heart and she felt mildly comforted, she knew with everyone working and coming together then there was a chance they could get through this, they had too.

"I think I have an idea for a backup plan," she suddenly sat up in her chair with a straight back and smiled towards him, "but you have to make me one more promise."

"Anything," he spoke eagerly.

"You can't tell anyone, especially Klaus," Elijah pondered her words for a moment, he knew that keeping secrets from his brother would end in disaster, especially when Elena is concerned but he saw the confidence etched into her face and he had to have faith.

"I promise," he stood by his word and he always meant it, "tell me your plan."

-w-

Elena had been wandering around the mansion for a while, trying to offer help wherever it could be needed; after she had finished talking to Elijah, he went to complete a couple of errands on her behalf, one that would secure the backup plan and make it fail proof. If Elena was to leave, everyone would notice, it had to be someone who could go undetected and Elijah was perfect at stealth.

She went into the study where Bonnie and Davina where finalising everything to do with the magical aspect of the plan; they had completed the ritual spell, secured the urn and even began doing protection spells on everyone else, it made it easier to remain undetected, which was more important for them considering The Order didn't know of there presence in New Orleans. They where the secret weapons.

"Need any help?" Elena asked, standing beside them at the desk.

"Actually, yes," Bonnie said, turning her attention to Elena, "a drop of blood? The fact that your tied to them can make the spell more direct and powerful."

"Sure, of course," she held out her hand towards Bonnie, she picked up a dagger and pressed the tip against the skin on her finger.

"Wait, there's already a cut here," Bonnie said, inspecting the small scratch.

"Oh, I done that this morning when me and Elijah where reading the newspaper, it's only a paper cut," she waved it off and smiled towards her best friend, there was a slight pinch but nothing Elena wasn't used to, she held her finger over the cauldron and let the blood drip onto the ingredients.

"Thanks, Elena," she smiled kindly towards her best friend.

"Is there anything else I can do? I feel useless," she spoke.

"We're almost done in here, I spoke to Marcel and he's finished with the arrangements for the vampires and I'm sure Klaus will be done soon enough," Davina spoke reassuringly, a small smile curling up on her lips.

"We should head out for a couple of hours, actually enjoy what could be our last night on earth," Elena spoke.

"Sounds good, I could have a drink," Bonnie shrugged her shoulders lightly, before turning to face Davina.

"I'm in," she agreed, all of them just happy to be out of the house.

"I'll go and ask everyone else," Elena smiled before spinning on her heel and exiting the study; she walked into the living room and found Rebekah and Kol, they where still going over there fighting tactics, it was all gibberish to Elena.

"How's everything going?" She asked, her attention stuck on them both; they was a mist of perspiration enveloping there skin, Rebekah had a sporty crop top and a pair of yoga pants on and Kol was shirtless and in a pair of knee length shorts, he grabbed a towel and flung it over the back of his neck.

"All good, we're nearly finished," Rebekah spoke, before grabbing a bottle of water and chugging half of it.

"Me, Bonnie and Davina where thinking of heading for drinks after we're all done here, wanna come?" She asked, watching as the two original vampires gleamed at her words.

"Definitely," Kol spoke, before approaching Elena and wrapping his arm around her neck, "we just need to shower."

"You're disgusting," she rolled her eyes slightly before pulling herself away from his hold, he was coated in sweat and his smell was worse, she couldn't help but chuckle lightly, "a shower is definitely first on your to-do list."

"We'll finish up, we won't be long," Rebekah spoke excitedly.

"Great, we'll all meet in here in an hour? Showered!" She aimed her statement at Kol, he merely smirked at her before turning his attention back to Rebekah.

She quickly exited the living room and went up the stairs, heading for her bedroom; once she was outside, she knocked on the door lightly and moments later, Klaus opened it, greeting her with a kind smile and a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You didn't have to knock," he smiled out of amusement, leading her inside the room.

"I didn't want to interrupt anything," she spoke, before sitting down on the sofa under the window.

"You're not, I'm all done here, the hybrids are ready for tomorrow and I've took care of a few last minute details," he sat beside her, taking her hand in his, "is something troubling you, my love?"

"Besides the big battle?" She smirked slightly, her gaze landing on him.

"I heard you all talking about heading out for a few hours before, I think it would be a good idea for us all to have a bit of fun, might take your mind of all this," Klaus spoke.

"Yes, that's why I came up, to see if you would come with me."

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it," Klaus could feel her anxiety and fear, he wished he could will it all away; all he could do was just hold her, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him, her head resting on his chest and her arms clinging to his waist.

"Promise me you'll be careful tomorrow? Don't be too reckless and impulsive," she couldn't help but smirk at her words, she knew his personality type all too well and he brought her more worry than he knew.

"I promise," he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, moving his hand towards her the top of her head and running his fingers through her hair.

"I can't wait until this is all over," she stated, nestling her head further into his chest.

"Me too," he spoke, enjoying her embrace for a few minutes longer, "we should get ready, we have to meet everyone downstairs soon."

-w-

They found themselves at Rousseau's, the drinks where flowing and the laughter was at an all time high; Marcel had joined them, mainly to keep an eye on Davina but for the first time in a while, they where all together and having fun.

Rebekah was standing by the jukebox with a bottle of bourbon in her hand and dancing the night away, Elena often joined her but her stamina was not the same as the blonde vampires; Elijah, Kol Marcel and Klaus all sat together reminiscing about there lives together, although Kol was less than thrilled when the daggers where mentioned. They laughed it off, in the end.

Davina, Bonnie and Elena all sat in a booth, the only humans in the group needed to eat, they ordered a share platter of chicken wings and engaged in a normal conversation, mainly about life in Mystic Falls and what they had planned post the battle.

"I think I'd like to leave New Orleans," Davina admitted, taking a large sip of her Diet Coke.

"Really?" Elena spoke, slightly shocked by her words, "this is your home, your magic won't work unless you're here."

"Exactly," she spoke, her gaze averting to the table, "I want to be normal, I don't want to spend the rest of my life working and living with vampires, I miss going to school and having friends that can't be used against me."

"I get that," Bonnie responded, finishing her last bite of a chicken wing and placing the bones back on the plate, "everyone I know is either a vampire, witch, werewolf or doppelgänger, it's all too complicated, makes for a very interesting school dance."

The three of them chuckled slightly at her words and Elena couldn't help but nudge her gently, "we're leaving, as soon as the battle is over."

"You and Klaus?" Bonnie asked, her lips parting slightly from surprise, "where are you going to go?"

"Anywhere," she answered quickly, even the thought of leaving here brought her more happiness that it should, "everywhere."

"As long as you're happy," Bonnie spoke, a look of regret hidden deep within her facial expressions, she always felt bad when she thought about how Elena's life used to be before vampires compared to now.

"I am happy," she smiled at the thought of her and Klaus together, travelling, planning, settling somewhere normal; she brought her her beer up to her lips and took a few large sips before setting it down on the table, "could I live without the vampire drama? Definitely!"

"Hear, hear," Bonnie chuckled, holding her bottle up in the centre of the table, "to no vampire drama and actually being happy."

"I'll drink to that," Elena picked up her bottle and tapped it against Bonnie, hovering it in the centre awaiting Davina.

"Does it still count if I'm only drinking Diet Coke?" She quipped, a small grin appearing on her lips before she joined her glass with theres.

"Let's get through this and move on," Elena declared, all three girls chuckling away; they all took a swig of there drinks before finishing there food and continuing in there gab.

"Maybe we should join Rebekah soon," Bonnie mused, her gaze catching the blonde vampire dancing alone next to the jukebox, her words where met with amused laughs.

"Come on," Elena pointed her head towards Rebekah and they all stood from there chairs, walking towards her; playfully, Elena took the bourbon bottle from her hand and stuck her tongue out at her, "you're hogging all the drink."

"And I'm changing the song," Bonnie was already at the jukebox and flicking through the available songs, when she finally saw one she liked, she put the coin in and held her arms up in the air, "this is my jam."

All the girls had a brief dance and a laugh, the men in the room watched in amusement as they let loose, something Elena needed to do for a while; with everything going on, it seemed almost impossible to actually relax and have fun.

After a short while, she joined the others and left the girls dancing, she sat beside Klaus and rested her head on his shoulder, "I'm beat, can we head back soon?"

"Whenever you like," he smiled kindly towards her, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

"We should all be leaving soon," Elijah said, taking the final sip of his bourbon, "we need as much rest as we can get."

"I agree," Kol spoke, turning his attention to the girls, "who's going to tell them?"

Elena glanced over to them, watching them dance and have a good time; she couldn't help but chuckle slightly at them, Bonnie and Rebekah where clearly drunk, they could barely stand, "we definitely don't need our main witch hungover tomorrow, I'll tell them."

-w-

An hour later, they arrived home, Bonnie and Rebekah stumbled through the door and went straight up to bed, Elena wasn't quite ready to sleep yet, she was too tense about tomorrow; she decided against a cup of coffee and instead started a pot of tea, it was already 11pm and she didn't know what time they'd be awoken tomorrow.

Klaus, Elijah and Kol had all joined her, they too were in the same predicament, they weren't ready to sleep; she was happy to spend some time with them, they where her family now and there was nowhere else she would rather be.

"Are we all set for tomorrow?" Kol asked, a hint of concern in his tone of voice.

"Yes, we have everything we need," Elijah responded, his voice it's usual calm and collected.

"Anyone else nervous?" Elena asked, her hands nursing her cup of tea and her gaze locked onto the liquid sitting inside it.

"A bit," Elijah admitted, "only about the outcome."

"Me too," Kol admitted, "we haven't been in a fight this big before, it's uncharted territory."

"You know my answer," Klaus spoke, his eyes locked onto Elena's as if trying to speak to her.

"If anything was too happen to me-"

"Don't, Elena," Klaus interjected, he was unable to hear the rest of the sentence, he couldn't handle what would come next.

"I have to say this," she swallowed a lump in her throat, finding it hard to even speak because of nerves, "if anything was too happen to me, just know, I love you all, you've all changed my life and I can't imagine it without you anymore, you're my family."

"Elena," Elijah paused for a long moment, she caught his gaze quickly and subtly shook her head, she feared he would reveal there last minute back up plan, "nothing is going to happen to you."

"We'll make sure of it," Klaus continued to his sentence.

"We'll all be beside you, you're family," Kols words warmed her heart, it wasn't often someone got to take a peek at the other side of him, the one that was filled with love and loyalty, his sarcasm and charm tended to hide that.

"We love you, Elena," Klaus spoke.

They where all still sat around the table when they joined in a group hug, there arms went around the shoulders of the person next to them, for Elena, it was Klaus and Kol, she pulled them into her and for a moment, she felt right at home.