Elena had barely slept all night; she tossed and turned for the majority of it, her mind racing about the ritual, she was scared for Elijah and her loved ones, this was a life or death situation and she couldn't help but think of the consequences.

She had got out of bed at 6am and sat downstairs in the kitchen, her usual mug of coffee in hand and lost in thought; she just stared at the liquid in her mug, watching it slowly swirl and the steam rising from it.

"Couldn't sleep?" Klaus had appeared in the door way, a slight gasp escaping her lips at the sudden surprise.

"Not a wink," She pursed her lips, annoyed at her exhaustion and her inability to do anything about it.

"Are you worried about tonight?" He asked as he entered the room, grabbing a mug from the side and filling it with coffee.

"You have the last cup, you make a new pot," She shot a smirk at him; lack of sleep and no coffee meant for a testy Elena.

"Of course," He chuckled lightly, placing his mug down and preparing a new pot.

"And to answer your question, worried is an understatement." She took a deep breath and suppressed the sudden urge to cry; exhaustion and fear don't go well together.

"I have faith in us," Klaus spoke as he finished preparing the coffee and took a seat next to her, grabbing his coffee in the process, "We're all stronger together, nothing can overcome that."

"I just don't want anybody to get hurt,"

"Even me?" He smirked playfully, his finger running along the rim of the cup, his attempt at making his question seem like a joke.

"Even you, Nik."

"You called me Nik," He sounded shocked at her sudden use of his nickname, there had been very few people to have called him that in the past, the main one being Rebekah.

"Oh," She cleared her throat and shook her head slightly, "I'm sorry, I'm just tired, I don't even know what I'm saying."

"No," He paused for a long moment, "It's fine."

"Are you sure? It seems very personal to you and I don't think we're quite there yet," She felt slightly awkward.

"I think we are," He gazed into her eyes, lost in her captivating hues, "As much as I try to fight it, I feel close to you, if there is anyone who should call me by that name, it's you."

"Well, I'm honoured," She said somewhat playfully, trying to make light of the situation.

"So you should be." They both chuckled at his words; this had been the first time since there kiss in London that they had actually enjoyed each others company, once all the complication of messed up and confusing feelings had been taken out of the mix, the pressure had been removed from them and they could just be themselves.

"So, where's Elijah this morning?" He asked, changing the topic.

"Fast asleep," She sounded almost jealous, "Perks of a being a human for the first time in a thousand years, I suppose, he's too tired to not sleep."

"He should enjoy it whilst it lasts,"

"You don't think he'll stay human?" She asked, his opinion very much wanted on this topic.

"I don't, magic has never been our friend and nature even less; the way the balance works, this will revert, it was a happy accident and it won't be allowed to persist."

"That's an interesting way to look at it," She spoke, "I think he wants to be a vampire again but only to protect us, his heart truly lies with being mortal."

"They both have there pros and cons; to be mortal is to live a full and a wholesome life but to be weak and to be a vampire is to live forever, strong and never withering, it's a hard situation he's in."

Elena sat in thought for a long moment, pondering at his words, "Thank you for that, your opinion means a lot to me."

"Of course, anytime."

They hadn't moved from the kitchen for hours, engaging in a lighthearted conversation; she was actually starting to think of him as not just family because of marriage but as his friend, someone she could trust and rely on, she just hoped he wouldn't let her down again.

Elijah had woke up and joined them in the kitchen; seeing them sat together had bothered him slightly but not as much as usual, there conversation yesterday reassured him completely.

"Good morning, my love," He walked towards her and bent down to give her a small kiss on the lips, as he stood back in an upright position, he glanced at Klaus, "Brother."

"You look refreshed," She noticed, there wasn't anything out of place on him, he seemed so confident and classy again.

"How are you feeling today?" Klaus asked, before he shot a quick look at Elena, she had met his gaze before they both turned back to look at him.

"Well, thank you, Niklaus," He spoke as he poured himself a mug of coffee and leaned against the kitchen counter, taking a small sip.

Completely out of nowhere, Klaus had launched his mug at him; he instantly held his hand up to block it, the porcelain shattering on impact and leaving a small wound on his hand.

Elena shot to her feet, shocked at what she had just witnessed, like everything they had spoke about this morning meant nothing, she was furious, "Klaus! Are you crazy? Why did you do that?"

"Calm down, love, look," She followed his gaze towards Elijah, he hadn't even been phased by what his brother had done; she watched as he stared at his hand, the wound healed moments later.

"You're a vampire again," She spoke.

"It would appear so," He shot a small grin at her before using his speed to race towards her and pull her into his arms, lifting and spinning her around.

"You're happy about this?" She asked as he placed her back down on her feet.

"Yes," He sounded so sure of himself, "As much as I long for a human life, that's just not who I am anymore, I want to be able to protect you and my family, I want to give you the world, Mrs. soon-to-be Mikaelson.

"As long as you're sure and you're happy, then I am too."

"I am," They both smiled, there lips meeting in a passionate kiss.

Rebekah had come downstairs to join them in the kitchen not long after Elijah, the entire family sat around the kitchen table; talking and enjoying each other as much as they could before they had to face the demon king tonight.

This is all Elijah had ever wanted for himself and his family; normality.

-w-

Noon had come and Elena's phone had started blowing up with texts and calls from her loved ones; Bonnie, Caroline and The Salvatores where wanting to know the plan for tonight; she had been avoiding them, mainly because she had changed so much and she didn't know how they where going to react. She had been in touch with Jeremy a lot, he had told them everything she told him the night she had returned so there wasn't too much of a surprise for them but she still couldn't shake her nerves.

"Bonnie's just text me," She said to the originals, as she scrolled through the text and read it aloud,

"I have prepared as much of a magical defence as I could and filled in the others about the ritual tonight, they're all willing and ready to fight. The ritual will start at 11pm and will be complete at midnight, this gives us an hour to kill him! See you then."

"We have the blade, a strong witch and a small army on our side, we can do this," Klaus smirked confidently but this still didn't reassure Elena.

"We've also got a one hour window to do it," Elijah spoke, "but let's not get cocky about this, he is powerful and has a bigger army of warlocks on his side, he also knows we have the weapon so he'll be prepared for that."

"I just can't wait for all this to be over," Elena sighed slightly, when this all began, it seemed like there wasn't an end in sight but now that the final ritual was here, she could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"Me too," Elijah placed a soft kiss on her forehead, she was slightly relieved that he was back to his normal self, he was her rock.

"Let's get ready for tonight." Spoke Klaus.

-w-