Elena had returned to the mansion; upon waking up this morning, she had a bunch of texts and missed calls from Klaus and Bonnie asking her and Elijah to come, they had some news, she was full of dread, nothing good ever comes from texts like those.

Klaus, Rebekah and Bonnie where sat around the coffee table in the living quarters, eagerly awaiting them to join; once they had stepped into join them, they had all stood from the sofa, a look of regret and despair plastered across there faces.

"Oh no," Elena spoke, as she felt the tension in the air, "what happened?"

"Nothing yet," Klaus started, "I have discovered who the vampire was who attacked you outside the grill."

"Well, brother," Elijah spat, his impatience growing, "do tell."

"You won't be happy to hear this, Elijah," he approached them both, "he was sent from New Orleans."

Elena looked at both brothers, her gaze flickering between them as there demeanour completely changed, she was baffled by what that meant but she could see in Elijah's face that it wasn't good.

"He's still alive?" After a long moments pause, he finally spoke, "how could the news of Elenas pregnancy spread so far out so quickly?"

"witches, I presume," Klaus shook his head at the thought of it, "the covens in this area must have reached out."

"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Elena interjected abruptly, her nerves at a sky high level.

"Do you remember a while ago when I told you the story of how myself and my family had took up residence in New Orleans? Well, during our stay, Klaus had took in a young boy by the name of Marcel; he was a gifted child and adored us all, we let him stay with us, took him under our wing and eventually classed him as one of our own but after Michael had attacked us and we had to flee the city, we left everything behind," Elijah told the story as shortly as possible in order to get to the point, "a few decades ago, I had been informed that Marcel had stayed there and became the leader of New Orleans, we're not sure how but he somehow managed to put vampires in charge, force the Witches to work for him and exiled the wolves."

"Oh my god," Elena just shook her head, attempting to process his words, "and now he wants to kill me? Why?"

"I believe the witches have informed him of your pregnancy and he probably deems your child as a threat that must be stopped," Klaus said, his voice filled with regret, "I'm sorry this is happening to you, I'm going to handle it."

"I'll be coming with you, brother," Elijah stated after a long moment of careful consideration, "it seems like an appropriate time to send a message."

"What kind of message?" Rebekah jumped into the conversation.

"Is it not obvious? Step within a mile of my family and everyone will die."

Elena had swallowed a lump in her throat, she hadn't seen him this serious and enraged before; taking Elijahs hand and standing directly beside him, she spoke "I'm coming too."

"Definitely not," There was no hesitation in Elijah's response, he glued his eyes to hers and spoke firmly, "this is not up for debate, Elena, this is going to be incredibly dangerous, I don't know what to expect and I can't put you both in harms way, something terrible could happen."

"I understand," Elena wanted to just listen him and she didn't know what was overcoming her but she had to fight back, "but what if it's a trap? What if the second you all arrive in New Orleans Marcel sends his vampires to attack me? I'll be alone and defenceless, I need to be with you."

Elijah was quiet for a long minute whilst he contemplated her words; on some level, she was correct, he would feel better knowing she was there with him and he was able to protect her but on the other hand, taking her and there unborn child straight into the middle of a battle is more dangerous. He knew she wouldn't like his answer.

"I can't risk it, Elena," his voice saddened, "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything ever happened to either of you."

"You won't be alone, Elena, I'll stay here with you," Rebekah reassured, "And Bonnie, Caroline, the Salvatores, and everyone else around you will protect you."

Elena couldn't handle this; not only did she feel angry but she couldn't take the guilt for even suggesting in the first place that she should go, she instinctively knew that she had to keep her child safe from all this but her anger and frustration came from being separated from Elijah whilst she was pregnant with a baby that no-one knows anything about, she couldn't puzzle her thoughts together.

"Fine," her gaze diverted to the ground, her voice filled with disappointment and sadness, "I'll stay here."

She had to leave the room, she need to be away from everyone whilst she thought more deeply into the current situation she was in. She was so happy yesterday, everything was perfect, how can it all just change so suddenly?

"I'm sorry, Elijah," Rebekah walked next to her brother and placed a hand on his shoulder, "I know you would rather be doing anything else but this."

"Let's just get it over with," his eyes never left the door that Elena walked out off, he was filled with sorrow, "Niklaus, please handle travel arrangements for the morning, I need to repair my marriage."

-w-

A couple of hours had passed, Elena and Elijah where currently driving home; silence filled the vehicle, she couldn't look anywhere other than out the window, she was lost in thought, still trying to process everything that was happening.

"How long will you be gone for?" She finally broke the silence, Elijah was relieved that she would finally speak to him.

"I'm not sure," he answered as honestly as he could, "this shouldn't take long."

Elenas hormones weren't helping this situation at all, she went back to staring out the window for the rest of the journey home.

Once they had arrived, Elijah had continued to be the gentleman that she had always known; he opened the car door for her, lead her to the front door and opened it, the whole time without speaking a word to him, she felt guilty.

Once they where inside, she walked off into the kitchen; she went straight to the coffee machine and began a pot, her frustration lead her to stand in front of the sink and wash the plates and cookware she had left the night before.

Elijah had followed her in a few minutes later, standing in the door frame, he watched as she took her anger out on the dishes, he hated to see her in so much pain, "can we please talk, my love?"

Elena just scoffed and continued to scrub.

"We can't avoid this all night, Elena, please talk to me," he pleaded.

She threw the wash cloth into the sink and turned around swiftly, "fine, you want to talk? Tell me, why do you have to go? Nik and Rebekah are perfectly capable of handling this, I am constantly anxious as it is without having to worry whether you're going to get hurt or not."

She took a deep breath and moved away from the sink, taking a seat at the table; she placed her head in her hands, her mind completely jumbled, "I'm pregnant, Elijah, with your child.. what if something happens to you? I can't even think about how scared I am that you won't return home to me."

Elijah saw a single tear drop roll down her cheek and land on the table; a deep sigh escaped his lips as he sat next to her, he took her hands in his and rested his forehead on hers, "I'm so sorry for putting you through this, my love but I have to do this, it's not just for our family but for our future too, I can't live with worrying about our safety constantly and who the next threat will be, I can't even fathom how someone could hurt our baby but they will and I have to stop that now, I just want you both safe and I have to be the one who does that, not my siblings, me."

"You can't guarantee your safety, you could die there…" she had trouble speaking the words, her heart broke, "I can't believe this is happening now, we've only been married 2 days, it's not fair."

"I won't die, I give you my word I'll be home as quick as I can and in one piece," he placed a soft kiss on her forehead, "I know it's not fair but this will pass, I will protect and take care of our baby, even if I have to burn the whole city to the ground to do it."

A few minutes had passed but Elena had reluctantly nodded her head in agreement, "I understand you have to do this and that there's no changing your mind and I don't want to fight about this all night but please be careful."

She couldn't believe she was actually agreeing to this, her anxiety was through the roof and it would be until the day he returns to her.

"I love you so much, Elena," he hadn't had a chance to process how much it was paining him at the thought of being away from her.

"I love you, Elijah, more than anything in this world," her eyes began welling up again, "I'm going to miss you so much."

He raised his hand to her cheek and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, placing another soft kiss on her lips, "I'll miss you more than you can know."

The evening had been a quiet one, they had discussed a few final details about his journey and what to do in case of an emergency before they had gone to bed together; they spent the night completely entwined in one and other, she didn't want to sleep for a single second, soaking up as much time with him as she could before he had to leave.

-w-

When the morning had arrived, they where both still awake; Elena had helped him pack for a little while and made sure he had everything he could possibly need. He had been on the phone for a long time ironing out all the details of his departure and ensuring Elena was adequately protected, he had even spoke to the Salvatores and arranged for Bonnie and Rebekah to live with Elena until his return.

They left for the mansion to meet with Klaus before they left for the airport; Klaus had arranged for the jet to transport them.

They arrived shortly after, Elena hadn't let go of Elijah once, she was terrified; when they entered the living quarters, Klaus had just finished packing and was ready to leave.

Bonnie was finishing up casting a spell of protection on them and spelled a few weapons in case they land into any trouble they couldn't handle.

"Are you sure you have everything you need?" Elena questioned the two brothers.

"Yes, even a few extras," Klaus smirked as he pulled out a grenade from the side pocket of his bag, holding it up and tossing it slightly and catching it again, "trust me, Elena, we're going to make them regret the day they ever sent someone to harm you."

"Just take care of each other, make sure you both come out of this alive," Elena had stepped away from Elijah and walked towards Klaus, her arms wrapping around his neck, she spoke lowly into his ear, "and make sure you bring him back home to me."

Klaus nodded his head and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into a tighter embrace, "I'll make sure nothing happens to him."

Elenas heart warmed at his words and his compassion, "please be safe, Nik, as much as I hate to admit it, I can't imagine you not in my life anymore, you've come so far and we need you, our baby needs an uncle."

"Don't worry about me, love,"he smiled as he nestled his head further into her neck, "I'm always here for you both."

They released each other from there embrace and shared a kind smile; she returned to Elijahs side and grabbed his hand, leading him towards the front door and outside.

"Call me the second you arrive at the hotel, got it?" She said, an amused smirk spread across her lips.

"Yes, boss!" He responded amusingly.

"We're gonna miss you," she placed her hand on her stomach as she spoke, her heart hurting more and more with each second that passed.

"You have no idea how much I'll miss you both," he pressed his lips on hers and placed his hands under her shirt and around her bump, caressing her skin. He had broke there kiss and knelt down to be eye level with her stomach, lifting her top slightly and placing soft kisses along her bump.

She couldn't help but cry again, Elijah had returned to her eye level and pulled her in so tightly before sharing a passionate kiss between them.

A few minutes had passed and Klaus had exited the mansion too, bags in hand, Elijahs included.

"I'm sorry, brother, we must leave," he walked over to them both and placed a hand on Elenas shoulder, "the jet leaves in less than hour."

She kissed him one last time before they had to separate, her heart completely shattering, "be safe, I love you."

"I will, I love you," he placed a long and soft kiss on her lips before forcing himself to pull away and follow Klaus to the car, he opened the door and looked back to Elena one last time, taking in her beauty completely before sliding onto the passenger seat and closing the door behind him.

She watched as they drove off, a part of her went with him; she waited until she couldn't see the car anymore before entering the mansion once more, she looked around, unsure what to do with herself.

She entered the living quarters and joined Bonnie and Rebekah.

"They'll be okay, Elena," Rebekah spoke reassuringly before hugging her.

"I actually agree with Rebekah," Bonnie shrugged, jokingly pulling a shocked face before joining the group hug. They all laughed briefly.

"I hope so."