Chapter 32: Daddy Issues
April 1, 2010
Ellie woke up in her own bed, though she had no recollection of coming home from Elijah's. She couldn't help the blush that colored her cheeks when she realized that it meant that she must have fallen asleep at his place and he'd simply brought her home instead of waking her. Once she shook away her embarrassment, she went about her normal routine of getting dressed. She could hear Jenna laughing from her room and felt herself relax when she heard Alaric laughter as well. She had gotten over being upset at the older man for lying by now, and she was glad that Jenna hadn't cut him out. When she opened her bedroom door, Jenna was also coming out of her room. "Good morning." Ellie said with a grin. "Seems like someone is in a good mood." She joked.
Jenna rolled her eyes at her niece before linking arms with her. "Maybe I am." Jenna shot back. "Either way I could definitely use some coffee."
"You really can't go a day without your coffee can you?" Ellie asked as she grinned up at Alaric as he walked behind them down the stairs.
"Hmmm…" Jenna said thoughtfully. "Nope!" The blonde seemed to be in a very good mood. She checked the watch on her wrist before rushing Ellie along into the kitchen. "Oh god, I'm late!"
"That's what you get for hitting the snooze three times." Alaric replied and Ellie laughed at Jenna's expense.
The two of them stopped suddenly when they looked over to see John standing next to Elena. "What the hell?" Jenna asked in surprise as Ellie made a face at the older man.
"Good morning to you, Jenna." John replied easily. "Alaric." He shot the other man an unimpressed face before smiling at Ellie. "Ellie, it's good to see you're doing ok now."
She didn't respond as Jenna looked to Elena. "It's ok I'm confused, right? Because we were not expecting you, like ever." Jenna said and it was clear her good mood had taken a nosedive.
"Well, I got in late last night. Elena let me in." John explained as he took a step closer to Jenna.
Ellie didn't miss the way Elena glanced at John before shooting a look at Alaric. He didn't miss a beat before he piped up, "Uh, you know, I'm probably just gonna take off." Alaric stared hard at John before looking over at Elena before he finally made his exit. Was Ellie once again missing something that was important?
"I'm still confused here." Jenna told them.
"Me too." Ellie added as she crossed her arms.
"I decided to come back and stay for a while." John informed them.
"Not here, you're not." Jenna told him bluntly.
John didn't really seem to care what she said. "Actually, you can't stop me from living here." He replied and Ellie noticed the way that Elena was shifting in her spot. The thought of John living there with them was not a pleasant one.
"Actually, I can as legal guardian." Jenna said.
"Yeah. About that, um Elena, you want me to explain the situation, or would you like to do the honors?" John asked as Elena ran a hand over her forehead.
"Ok. What's going on?" Jenna asked.
Elena spoke first saying, "I'm sorry, Jenna. I should've told you earlier, but…"
"I'm Ellie and Elena's biological father." John told them and Ellie actually stumbled backwards into Jenna in surprise. "There. Now you both know." He didn't seem to care how that news effected Ellie as he brushed past them to walk off.
Ellie turned to her sister who looked guilty. "Elena, what? You knew that John, of all people, was our biological father and you didn't tell me?" She asked as she dug her nails into the flesh of her palm. "How long have you known?" She could feel her magic bubbling below the surface and she knew that if she didn't keep it in check, that she could do a lot of damage.
"Ellie, I…" Elena started but words failed her as she stared at her twin. Ellie wanted to scream. Even if Elena used the excuse that she was trying to protect Ellie from the supernatural, she had absolutely no right to keep the news about John from her.
Her phone started buzzing in her pocket, and she dropped her glare from Elena before reaching to get it. She pulled it out with shaking hands to see a series of text messages popping up from Tyler. His messages seemed frantic and upset and he was saying that he needed to see her as soon as possible and that he was about to be at her house. "I've got to go Elena, but trust me when I tell you that this conversation is far from over." Her voice was low and she forced her hands to stop shaking as she made her way outside.
Tyler was standing in front of her, hands shoved deep into his pockets and she wasn't sure if he was shaking from anger or from distress. "We need to talk, Ellie." He said seriously as she stopped in front of him.
It was strange to hear him sound so serious. Surely he didn't know about her? No one knew about her. "Ty, what's going on?"
"Not here." He replied as he moved to get into the driver's seat of his car. She got in and barely had time to click her seat belt into place before he was speeding down the street. They drove in silence, which gave her plenty of time to note the way Tyler was digging his nails into his thigh. He also had a death grip on his steering wheel, and she wasn't sure how much force a werewolf would need to use to break it.
Their arrival to the woods was unexpected. Out of all the places she expected him to take her so that they could talk privately, this wasn't high on her list. "Where are we going?" She asked as she followed him out of the car.
"It's not far." He assured her. Ellie didn't think that she was in danger, not in the slightest, but if she was, she had enough faith in her magic to defend herself from him without hurting him. It wouldn't be a very difficult thing to do, not when he was human. He led her to some stairs that went into the ground, but they weren't exactly like the ones that were built to the tomb where Katherine was trapped. "Down here."
Had Tyler been in a lighter mood, she might have made a horror movie joke, but it didn't seem the time. "Is everything ok? What's going on?" Ellie questioned as he turned on a lantern to light up the place. Almost instantly, she noticed the scratch marks on the floor, as well as some equipment that looked like it was used by rock climbers. What was this place?
"There's something I got to tell you, but I couldn't tell you at your house, and I couldn't tell you at mine either." Tyler confessed ominously. She opened her mouth to question what he meant, but he blurted out, "Mason's dead." It felt like a punch to the gut, even though she already knew.
"What?" She choked. "How did you find out?"
It was the wrong thing to say and she knew it immediately. His expression shifted from one of sympathy and of pain, to suspicion. "Did you know too?" He asked accusingly. "Were you in on it?" His mood changed so suddenly it was almost enough to give her whiplash. "God first Caroline was lying to me and now you?" The betrayal in his voice cut deep.
"What does Caroline have to do with anything?" Ellie questioned. Caroline was a vampire, yes, but Tyler shouldn't know that. Even if he did, surely Caroline didn't know about what happened to Mason.
"She's a freaking vampire, Ellie! What are you one of them too? Have you been playing me this whole time?" Tyler was so angry. "You've both been pretending to be my friends and you've been using me the entire time! How could you not tell me?"
He thought she was a vampire? "Ty… Tyler!" She yelled so that he could hear her over his own shouts. "What are you talking about? Tyler, I'm not a vampire." He immediately stopped shouting and for a moment, panic danced across his features.
"Then how did you know that Mason was dead?" He inquired. "How long have you known?"
Elijah was going to kill her. If she didn't tell Tyler everything, she ran the risk of him telling Caroline or someone else that couldn't know her secret. She sighed heavily and confessed, "I read Elena's journals. And I just found out and I didn't know how to tell you." At least that way, if he did tell Caroline, she wasn't revealing her involvement with Elijah. "Ty, I'm not a vampire. Are you?"
"No, I'm not a vampire." Tyler shot back. "Wait how do you know about vampires if you're not a vampire?"
"How do you?"
He gave a dark look. "You can't tell anyone."
"Only if you promise to not tell anyone anything I tell you." Ellie bargained.
"No one knows anything at all?"
She nodded. "Not a soul."
"Deal." He agreed. He braced himself before confessing, "I'm a werewolf." After a moment of tense silence, his eyebrow quirked up. "You're not laughing… or calling me insane?"
Ellie bit down on her lower lip before asking, "Truth time?" When he agreed, she confessed to already being aware of what he was, along with everyone else. It wasn't her fault that Elena wrote absolutely everything down. It was a long conversation before she even got to the part of confession that she was a witch. Their conversation went similarly to the way her conversation with Jenna went. Some parts were more emotional for the both of them, especially where Mason and Vicki were involved. But by the end of it, Tyler swore not to tell a soul of what he learned from her, and with how pissed he was at the Salvatores, she didn't doubt that he would keep his word.
"So you've been on your own basically this whole time?" Tyler asked softly after he'd had time to cool down.
She hummed in confirmation before looking up suddenly, "Ty… Tyler I am so sorry that I wasn't there for your first transformation. I wanted to be, but I didn't know where you were and I didn't know how to tell you and it killed me to know that you were going to be in pain and I couldn't help you." She said it in a rush as she gripped tightly at his hands.
"You wanted to be there?"
"Of course I did! Ty, you are so important to me, and the thought of not helping you when you're in pain and there's a chance that I can help, it just doesn't sit right with me." She confessed.
His eyes went wide in recognition. "Those nightmares you had about me…"
"Yeah."
"Don't blame yourself for that. I nearly hurt Caroline and she's way faster and stronger than you. I don't know if I would have forgiven myself for hurting you." Tyler replied.
So Elijah was right in that regard, but he just mentioned Caroling being there. "Wait, Caroline was with you on the night you turned?" She asked cautiously. Didn't Elijah say that a bite from a werewolf could kill a vampire?
"Yeah, she kind of walked me through it. She basically said that she was alone when she first turned and she didn't want me to go through it alone." Tyler explained. "Honestly, I'm glad she was there. I don't know if I could have done it alone."
Relief washed over her. Caroline, that beautiful, amazing girl. "Do you maybe understand now why I love her so much?" Ellie asked teasingly.
He rolled his eyes. "I'll admit, she's given me a lot of support and I needed it. But she also lied to me." His good mood faded as he was reminded of the blonde vampire's betrayal. "I hate Damon Salvatore." He said sharply.
"Join the club. I hated him even before I knew all the fucked up shit he did." Ellie reminded him. They were going to be ok. At least, she hoped they were.
After Tyler finally dropped her off back at home, Ellie sent a text to Elijah letting him know that they had to talk and that it was important. Almost instantly, she received a reply telling her to come back to the apartment that he was staying in. As she was grabbing her keys, she could hear Elena on the phone with someone in her room. Her previous anger with Elena over yet another lie rushed back to the surface. Elena was lucky that she didn't make the mistake of coming out of her room as Ellie was trying to leave.
The drive to Elijah's was a blur but she arrived at the building with ease and as she rode the elevator up, her fingers drummed out an anxious pattern on the back of her phone. Hopefully Elijah wouldn't be too angry. Once she arrived at his apartment, she knocked nervously. "Hello Eleanor, come in." He said politely as he stepped aside so that she could walk it. He could hear her heart pounding in her chest before he ever opened the door. Whatever she wanted to speak with him about had her nervous.
"Hi." She replied as she stepped further into the room. For a long moment, he watched as she anxiously tugged on the strap of her bag as she tried to figure out what to say.
"Is everything alright?" He asked curiously. He hadn't seen her look this nervous since the day they met and she thought her life was in danger.
Ellie started to say something before she stopped. He watched as she braced herself before confessing, "Tyler knows about me."
His eyes widened slightly in surprise. "He what?"
"Tyler, the werewolf, he confronted me about his uncle's death and I said the wrong thing and he's not stupid and so he started questioning me and he thought that I was a vampire and that I had betrayed him and that I was using him and I didn't know what to do so I basically told him that I found everything because Elena wrote it in her diary and that I wasn't a vampire I was a witch and basically begged him not to tell anyone." She said it all in a rush. Had it not been for his vampire hearing, he might not have caught it all with the speed she was speaking at.
He didn't miss the way that her hands were shaking slightly as she explained. It didn't take a genius to realize that she was afraid that he would be angry at this turn of events. "Will he be a problem?" Elijah asked.
She stopped fidgeting as she snapped her head up to look at him. "Huh?"
"Will he be a problem?" Elijah repeated it calmly.
"I… uh, no." She stumbled over her words before collecting herself. "No, he won't be a problem. He feels betrayed by Caroline and he's filled with too much hate for Stefan and Damon to say anything to them right now. He won't tell them." Ellie confirmed. "Elijah, I am so sorry. I messed up, but I didn't know what else to do and I never felt right about lying to him when it came to his uncle's death."
Ellie was genuinely afraid of his reaction. That was the last thing he wanted from her. He needed her trust, which meant he needed her to trust that he wouldn't overreact when things happened that weren't in her control. If he blew up and lost his temper on her, it could cause irreparable damage to her trust in him. It would do neither of them any good. And if he were honest with himself, if he lost his temper on her, he would feel too much like his father. "Eleanor, it's alright." He assured her.
"You're not mad?" She asked softly.
"I have no reason to believe that you would intentionally do anything to put our agreement into jeopardy." He explained. "Am I to assume that this turn of events has just happened?"
"Yes. I came here as soon as I wasn't with him." Ellie confirmed.
He nodded. "I value your honesty with me. I'll be keeping a closer eye on the boy to make sure that he doesn't change his mind about keeping your secret, but given the circumstances, you've handled the situation well." Elijah watched as the tension drained out of her. "Would you like some tea?"
Ellie grinned slightly as she nodded. "That would be nice." He made his way to the kitchen as she followed behind him before she dropped into one of the seats at the table. He made the chamomile tea quickly before placing a cup before her and taking the seat across from her. "Thank you." She replied before taking a drink of her tea. She smiled to herself in satisfaction. The tea was just how she liked it.
They sat in silence as they drank and while she no longer looked nervous of his reaction, he could see that something was still bothering her. It might not have been his place, but he was aware that it would be better to have conversations with her that were more than just about what they were planning to do. "Is everything alright?" He asked. "You look like something is bothering you."
Had she been so obvious? Was she really that easy to read? "It's nothing, really." Ellie replied, but even to her own ears, it sounded like a lie. He raised an eyebrow in response. "It's just sibling bull crap." She added. "Elena lied to me about something she had no right to lie about."
"Something other than all the secrets she's already keeping?" Elijah asked curiously.
Ellie nodded. "I don't know if you're aware, but Elena and I are adopted. She found out who our biological father was and she didn't tell me." Ellie explained. "God our biological father is literally our uncle, who no one really likes, but she's known for who knows how long and she didn't tell me."
She sounded so frustrated. "I'm sorry." He told her genuinely. "It was wrong of her to lie to you about such a matter."
"But she doesn't get it, Elijah. It's like there's this disconnect with her. She found out we were adopted and just dropped that bomb on me when she was using it as a way to get out of trouble with Jenna. She didn't even have the decency to tell me first and then she completely refused to tell me how she found out. Even if I understand why she does some of the stuff she does in regards to the supernatural business, she has no right to keep secrets like that when it comes to our biological parents." Ellie ranted slightly. "I'm sorry. It's really not your problem."
"It's alright. Keeping things pent up isn't going to help you any." Elijah told her. "But is there anything I can do to help?"
Ellie considered the offer for a moment. When it came to Elena making stupid decisions, he couldn't do anything about that, but maybe he could help her learn how to protect herself from other supernatural creatures. "With Elena, no. But do you have any grimoires that go into details about other supernatural creatures and how to defend against them? After I found out about vampires and werewolves, I went through the grimoires I already had. Not a single one referenced supernatural creatures other than ghosts and other witches."
Elijah rose from his seat and she followed beside him as he led her over to the bookcase where all the other grimoires rested. "It's not entirely surprising that that's the case. If your teacher was trying to protect you from knowing about other supernatural creatures, there's a chance that she intentionally gave you grimoires that didn't reference them. Throughout history, not all witches were aware of all the other supernatural types, especially if they lived in a secluded area. It is the same way in the sense that some vampires don't believe that werewolves exist because they've never encountered one and they think that it's just a made up story. Or the way that some vampires are unaware of the existence of The Originals. If they've never encountered it, they might not believe it to be true."
"That makes sense." Ellie agreed as he knelt down to find whichever particular grimoire he was looking for. "Just out of curiosity, how do you know which ones to get?"
From the angle she stood at, she could just barely see the amused upturn of his lips. "I might not be a witch, but I've skimmed through these so that I can point my witches in the right direction should they not have the resources that they need to perform a task. Even if I hadn't read them at all, a great deal of witches have encountered vampires and werewolves, which means they tend to have spells to defend against them." He pulled three large grimoires from the bottom shelf. "These have a lot of information on protection from other supernatural creatures, both defensive and offensive. Most likely, you'll encounter far more vampires than you do werewolves, but these grimoires have a lot of information on both."
"Thank you." She said gratefully as she took them from him.
"You are, of course, more than welcome to stay here while you read if you do not wish to be at home." Elijah offered kindly.
He was somewhat surprised to see the way she absolutely beamed at the offer. Her earlier anxiousness at his reaction was long gone and she seemed to be at ease in his presence once more. "I would like that." She replied warmly as she made her way to the large armchair and sunk into it.
It had been a long time before Ellie realized that the day had faded into night. She might not have realized it at all had it not been for the sharp sound of Elijah's ringer. "Hello." Elijah answered the phone as he sat up slightly straighter. "What?" His tone was sharp as he replied, "Take care of it. Go and get the girl and make sure to tell the wolves that they need to get the hell out of this town." He nodded along to whoever he was speaking to. "Get it done and notify me when it's over."
He hung up the phone before returning it to the table beside him. "Elijah, what's wrong?" She asked worriedly as she closed the grimoire. "Did something happen? I thought the only wolf in town was Tyler?"
"Werewolves tend to travel in packs, like regular wolves. If they find out one is alone, a pack will go out of its way to bring in the lone wolf. This is especially true when the werewolf is brand new. How they came to be aware of your friend, I don't know, but there's several of them here now." Elijah explained. He seemed reluctant to tell her the next bit of information. "It seems they've taken your friend Caroline hostage in exchange for the werewolf."
It felt like he had stolen the air from her lungs and her chest constricted painfully. "What?" She choked out. "Oh my god, what do we do?" She asked as she rose from her seat. "She could be hurt!" The thought of something happening to Caroline was enough to make her way to vomit.
"Dr. Martin is taking care of it." Elijah assured her as he too rose from his seat to keep her from running off. "I have faith in his capability to save your friend. He's on his way to where she's being held now and will contact me as soon as it's done and she is safe. I have every intention to keep my word to both you and your sister."
Ellie was aware that she was shaking, but she couldn't stop it. Once again, she felt powerless to save someone that was so incredibly important to her. "I couldn't take it if I lost her." She said pitifully.
"You won't." He said it with such certainty that Ellie just nodded along. He didn't stop her from pacing anxiously around the room. As she paced, he went and poured himself a drink. It wouldn't be long before Dr. Martin would call him to let him know that it was done. Just as he thought, it wasn't even twenty minutes before his phone began to ring again. "Is it done?" Ellie stopped moving as she focused on what he was saying. "Good."
"Is it over? Is she safe?" She asked him as she dug her nails into her palms. When he nodded, the tension drained and she braced herself against the back of the couch to keep herself steady. "How did Dr. Martin even know that she was in danger?"
"They have precautions in place to make sure they're aware if something were to happen." Elijah explained but Ellie's mind was still spinning as she tried to figure out what could have happened to Caroline.
"God I can't even go and check on her because they don't know that I know." Ellie whined slightly.
"Whatever they did to her, she will heal." Elijah assured her.
He watched as she ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "That doesn't mean that she's just gonna get over the emotional trauma of whatever happened to her. It's not like she's ever been held hostage before." Ellie replied.
"Call her, check on her." Elijah suggested.
"Yeah, yeah, I can just call her. She doesn't have to know that I know anything." Ellie agreed as she quickly pulled out her phone and dialed Caroline's number.
"Hello?" Caroline answered just before it sent her to voicemail. Her voice sounded rough, like she had nearly lost it. It was similar to the way they'd sound after a football game from cheering too loud.
"Hey, Care." Ellie greeted warmly. "I just hadn't really heard from you today and I wanted to check in."
"Uh.. um, yeah I'm good. I just had a long day and I'm really tired." Caroline lied.
"Are you sure you're ok, Care? You don't sound too good." Ellie asked softly. "Do you want me to come over?"
There was a moment of silence before Caroline answered, "No. I'm just really tired. I think I'm gonna shower and then just go to sleep."
"Are you sure?" Ellie asked again. Caroline hummed in confirmation. "Ok, you do sound really exhausted, just call me if you need anything."
"I will." Caroline told her.
"Promise?"
"Promise." Caroline swore.
Ellie wanted to do something more, to say something more, but she was between a rock and a hard place. "I love you." Ellie said softly.
"Love you too." The call ended a second later.
Elijah rose and poured himself a glass of what looked to be bourbon. "How is she?" He asked curiously.
Even though she was sure he could hear Caroline, she responded anyways. "She's not ok. She tried her best to not show it, but I know her better than probably anyone. She's not ok." Ellie said in defeat.
"She will be." He replied confidently.
"Hopefully, but I think that maybe I should head home. It's been a long day." Ellie said to him.
The whole ordeal of the day seemed to drain her, so he nodded in agreement. "I understand. Let me walk you down to your car." He offered as he picked up her bag for her. They walked in comfortable silence to where she had parked. When they arrived, Elijah unsurprisingly opened the door for her. "Let me know when you arrive home safely."
"Thanks, Elijah. I will." She promised. "I'll see you later."
Author's Note:
Hey guys! This chapter is coming a few hours early today because I'll be out of the house during regular update time, and I'd rather it be early than late. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Please leave a review and let me know.
To RiRi: Oh they're already super close! It's part of why it bothered Ellie so much to leave her in the dark. I know it's not written nor essential to the plot, but when I think of them and their relationship I can just see teenaged Jenna and little Ellie snuggling and watching movies together because they get on so well. I'm glad you like Ellie and Luka's friendship! Katherine really is blunt af and has no problems calling them out and I love it.
To Guest: Hmm, what kind of spoiler? It's hard to think of a spoiler when I'm not sure what kind you want lol.
To Aryabloodlust: Thank you! I enjoy writing the occasional shift in perspective where we get to see what's going on in other people's heads. I'm trying my best to keep it steady and realistic. I think it kinda ruins the magic when people have stuff move way too fast because you're like, this character would do this like this. So I've really tried to make sure that I really think Elijah would react in the ways he does. I definitely think it's possible for her to make her own grimoire, especially for the harder to find spells that she needs to have on hand. I have a lot of plans for her relationships with the rest of the Originals, because I love them so much. So you're definitely going to get to see it when we get to them. I love Kol, so that's probably going to influence a good bit. You're definitely going to get to see Marcel and Ellie interact! And there's definitely going to be Ellie and Davina bonding. I think Davina would have benefited a lot from having a positive witch influence.
To Oz: Yeah, for the most part I think I'll at least split it between TVD and TO so that there's a chance for more people on here to come across it. But, whenever we get to that point, I would probably post the last chapter of the TVD section and the first part of the TO section on the same day so that people could save the second story as well. We have to stan Katherine for being blunt lol. Ellie might, I haven't decided yet. I think the two of them are definitely going to develop into a more sister bond, and I think it's gonna drive Elena insane.
To Rose1414: Thank you so much!
To Guest(2): I haven't written it yet, but I'm going to assume that there's definitely going to be times where Ellie defends Katherine. Really what was Katherine supposed to do, let herself get murdered? Elena's wrong to blame her for not wanting to die.
To spirouFr: You're welcome!
To lolistarkiller: Be patient, I think you're gonna be a little surprised by the outcome of what goes on at the sacrifice. I hope you enjoy this update!
To 27: I also love a long fic, hence why this is so long lol. Yes, I do intend for this to go into the Originals, so that's probably where I'm gonna split it. I'm really glad you enjoy this fic. When I was younger, I tended to stick very very closely to the original plot of whatever series I was writing a fic on, so this has been a new thing for me to have more original scenes. Thank you so much for reading!
-Madame Magic
Posted: 9/19/20
