"Marcel will send vampires or witches here, it's only a matter of time," Elijah started as he paced around the room, "fighting them off shouldn't be too difficult."
"I don't want to spend what I have left of this pregnancy fighting and running," Elena was saddened, "I grow bigger everyday, pretty soon I'm gonna be a whole planet, incapable of running anywhere, and what about when she's born? I'm sure I can fend off vampires whilst changing diapers and feeding."
"She's right," Bonnie interjected, placing her hand on her best friends, "that's the last thing we want for you, we need a plan; I'll start by contacting the covens again, find out all we can about the witches in New Orleans, I'll spell the mansion and your house and I might be able to reach out to the other side, see what they know about your baby."
"We'll stay here tonight," Stefan suggested, "keep watch."
"Me too," Caroline nodded her head, joining the brothers, "we'll keep you safe, Elena."
"For now, all we can do is rest," Elijah spoke to Elena and Klaus, they where all exhausted and needed to regain there strength.
"I can't rest, not whilst everyone else is risking there lives for me," Elena spoke, that felt too selfish.
"Yes you can and you will," Rebekah spoke demandingly, "you have to be well rested and safe and that's why we're all here, the three of you look awful and smell even worse, so go and take a bath and get into bed."
Elena couldn't help but chuckle slightly at her words, the kindness and love from her friends still surprised her, she felt like she didn't deserve it."
"Come on, my love," Elijah held out his hand towards her and helped her onto her feet, smirking slightly at his next words, "I won't be passing up the opportunity for a bath."
"Oh my, Mr. Mikaelson," Elena smiled playfully, as he pulled her into him.
"Ew," Rebekah muttered under her breath, shaking her head slightly whilst laughing "you definitely need to go now,"
Elijah began kissing Elena along her cheekbones as they walked towards the stairs slowly; he placed his hands on her hips as they ascended the staircase, heading straight for the bedroom.
Elena went straight into the bathroom and switched the tap on above the bath, taking the bubble bath from the side and pouring it in as the water began filling the bath and lighting a few candles around the room; she began to remove her clothes, they where dirty and slight marks of blood along the collar of her shirt from when she'd been hit on the head, she went to grab her dressing gown from the hook on the door when she stopped in front of the mirror once again, her hands rubbing across her bump, she looked about 4 months pregnant even though she was barely 2 months along.
She put on her dressing gown and exited the en-suite returning to Elijah; he was taking his blazer off, the sleeves where soaked in blood and the collar torn, "such a waste of a good suit,"
"I was particularly fond of this one," Elijah smirked as he tossed it on the edge of the chair; he began unbuttoning his shirt when Elena approached him and carried on doing the rest until they where all separated, revealing his bare chest and stomach; she placed soft kisses along his neck, her hands moving up his body to cup his face before her lips found there way to his, indulging in a long and passionate kiss; her skin felt like it was on fire as he moved his hands along her back and settled on her hips.
She had missed this; his touch, his kiss, his body against hers in complete closeness, she didn't feel any worry or panic when she was in his arms but most of all, she missed the quiet in her mind when he was near her. They didn't have to be physical for them to be intimate, he was everything to her.
She held onto his hand and lead him into the bathroom; she switched the light off as she entered, the candles flames flickering as she switched the tap off. She removed her dressing gown and sat in the bath, the hot water and bubbles caressing her skin.
Elijah removed his pants and followed her in, sitting opposite to her, his lips locking onto hers once again; there where no words, only passion and the enjoyment of each others company.
A while had passed, all of there worries had seemed to wash away with the blood and the dirt on there skin; she was laying back onto his chest with his arms wrapped around her stomach and there legs interlocked, the candles had burned halfway down and the water was starting to cool.
They had stepped out of the bath and wrapped themselves up in towels; once Elena had dried herself, she threw on a pair of shorts and one of his shirts before climbing into bed next to him, he only wore boxers in bed, didn't take him much too be ready for sleep.
"Feel better, my love?" He asked, placing a soft kiss on her forehead as she nestled her head into his shoulder.
"Perfect," her fingers where slowly trailing the skin all along his stomach and chest, he too was perfectly relaxed, they both tried there very best to not think about a single one of there problems and to just be there in the moment, "I've missed this.. I've missed you."
"I look forward to all this being over so we can start our life together, for everyday to be like this right now and have a perfect life with and for our daughter," his only wish in life for his family to be happy and safe, "you're everything, Elena."
She wasn't sure if it was hormones or exhaustion or just how hard the last few weeks had been but she began to cry, her cheeks had turned red as the tears began to stream down her face, "I'm sorry."
"What's wrong?" Elijah had sat up and turned his body to face her, his hands now cupping her face and clearing away the tears, "was it something I said?"
"No, of course not," she grabbed a tissue from the night stand and dabbed away her tears, "Its just when I think of our future that's all I see; a normal life, a normal family and a normal marriage, I'm just scared we won't get to have that."
"I'll do everything in my power to ensure that's what he have, even if we have to move to the opposite end of the world to find peace; I'll do anything for this family, Elena, don't worry for even a second about our future, as long as I have you beside me, everything will be perfect," he rested his forehead against hers, his hands placed on he back of her head, entangling her hair in his fingers.
"I don't deserve you," she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and leaned her head more onto his, "how did I get so lucky?"
"I am and always will be the lucky one, you bring me so much happiness and love," he lay her down on the bed, his body following with hers; they lay on there sides facing each other, there eyes locked onto each others, "get some sleep, my love, you'll feel better in the morning."
Elena nodded her head gently and closed her eyes, "goodnight, darling, I love you."
He placed another soft kiss on her forehead before closing his eyes as well, ready for sleep, "I love you, always."
-w-
The next morning arrived, Elena was still half asleep and in a daze when her eyes peeled open; the curtains where still closed but she could see light peering in through the sides, she looked to Elijah's side of the bed and saw that he wasn't there, she lay in bed for a few minutes longer before dragging herself out of it.
She grabbed the nearest pair of jeans and t-shirt to her and threw them on; she went to the table and grabbed her phone, switching it on, she had no new messages and it was already 11am! She couldn't believe she'd slept in, she popped her feet into a pair trainers and made her way downstairs.
Everyone was still there; The Salvatore's and Caroline we're in the living room and Rebekah, Klaus, Elijah and Bonnie where all in the kitchen; when she entered, everyone turned to her and smiled.
"Morning, sleepy head," Bonnie spoke, an amused grin spread on her lips, "what time do you call this?"
"Oh stop," Rebekah chuckled slightly, "how did you sleep?"
"Great, thanks guys," she walked over to the coffee pot, passing Elijah on the way and pecking his cheek before pouring herself a cup of coffee, "so, what's been going on?"
"Are you sure you don't want to wake up a bit more first before we bombard you with information?" Bonnie asked, concern in her voice, "it's a lot."
Elena pursed her lips together as she sat down at the table, Elijah joining her, "hit me!"
"I'll start," Klaus spoke up, his arms folded across his chest, "I sent a few of my hybrids to New Orleans, they managed to spy on Marcel without being noticed and so far, there plan is to send a small army of vampires and witches here to get you; there is a witch there by the name of Davina whom Marcel keeps close to him at all times, she's been given an important job to do but the hybrids couldn't find out anymore information."
"Oh my god," she said in a low voice, processing the information, "is that everything?"
"Not quite," Bonnie paused momentarily and sat next to Elena, "I was up all night calling every witch I possibly know, all I could find out is that the french quarter coven are powerful, there power comes from generations of witches buried beneath Lafayette cemetery, where they sent you all last time, they're not unstoppable but they're strong, Marcel has taken over the quarter by killing there families, we might be able to use that to our advantage."
"How?" Elena was practically speechless, one syllable words was all she could manage.
"We'd need to meet with Sophie and talk to her in secret, away from the other witches and more importantly, Marcel," Klaus interjected, "if we can convince her that we want to help her coven reclaim the city from the vampires, she may help us."
"One last thing," Bonnie looked over to Elena, watching her eyes widen with information overload, "I contacted the other side, Emily know's of a spell that our ancestors used decades ago on pregnant women to check the health of there babies, especially when the mothers where vulnerable or weak, they checked heartbeat, gender, etc, I've been working on a more modern 'new age' re-write to see if we can find out what you're baby actually is. Maybe then we can convince the witches and the majority of the supernatural community that she's not evil and too leave you in peace."
"Okay," Elena nodded her head, still processing everything that had just been to said her but she wanted to brave, she had too for the sake of her family, "so how long do we have until this army reaches Mystic Falls?"
"48 hours max," Klaus responded, "my hybrids are already on there way here and we have more than enough for a defence."
"Okay, good," Elena turned her attention to Bonnie, her facial expressions as serious as could be, "how soon can you have the spell ready?"
"Give me an hour or two to get ready and we can do it," Bonnie nodded her head before standing from the chair and making her way into the living quarters.
"When we've done the spell, we'll contact the coven," Elena had been tapping her fingers on the table for a long minute, lost in thought.
"What is it, my love?" Elijah spoke, breaking her train of the thought.
"It's probably nothing but I still can't figure out why Sophie cared so much about the gender of our baby," she paused again, trying to puzzle her thoughts together, "the whole meeting seemed off; at first, she seemed so angry and defensive but then when I told her I thought she's a girl, she changed. It was weird, I can't keep replaying it over and over in my head."
"We'll have our answers soon enough," Elijah reassured, both of them smiling kindly towards each other, "how are you feeling about this spell? Are you sure you want to do this?"
"I think I need too," she looked down to her stomach, her hand pressed against her bump gently, "we need to know."
-w-
An hour or so had passed, everyone was sat in the living room, watching Bonnie prepare the spell; she had laid a large circle of candles in the centre of the room, a round, brass bowl within it with several ingredients inside.
Bonnie had sat down inside the circle with her legs crossed beneath her and a grimoire on the floor in front of her; she read it over one last time before turning her gaze to Elena, "it's time."
She gestured for Elena to step inside the circle; Elijah had been holding tightly onto her hand, worried in case something would go wrong. She gave him a kiss on the lips before stepping inside, she too sat on the floor in front of Bonnie; she began chanting a few long moments later, Elena watched carefully as Bon closed her eyes, her hands hovering over the bowl, Elena assumed everything inside was to help her channel her magic, items of power and herbs of nature.
As the chanting intensified, the candles became lit and the items inside the bowl began to smoke; Bonnie placed a hand on Elena's stomach and continued to chant, she felt no pain or any discomfort, another breeze of wind had encircled the room, it got stronger with the chant and it smashed a vase on the fireplace.
Her chanting grew louder and more powerful as she went along; an all too familiar white light began to emerge from Elena but it didn't hurt Bonnie…. it helped her.
"It's working," Bonnie smiled at the light before closing her eyes again, she stopped chanting for a long moment and placed her other hand on Elena's stomach, "amazing."
Elena was instantly comforted by her words; as the spell was coming to am end, the candles began to extinguish and the items inside the bowl had all turned to ash, Bonnie took her hands from Elena's stomach and opened her eyes, instantly looking towards her best friend, not an ounce of caution or worry on her face.
"Elena, she has magic," Bonnie exclaimed excitedly, "she's powerful."
"What?" Elena's lips parted at her words, unsure of how to react, "but how?"
"When she was conceived, it was magic that made Elijah human, magic that created her, she's going to be born of pure magic," Bonnie was relieved but she could see Elena was still concerned, Elijah too, which was made obvious by him sitting beside her, his hands now holding hers.
"Oh my god," she looked over to Elijah, he too looked relieved but there was still a look they shared that they both understood in an instant, "Bonnie, is she a vampire?"
"Yes," she answered, Elena's heart felt like it had stopped, "but it's dormant."
"What does that mean?" Elena spoke quickly, becoming more and more confused by the minute.
"I'm not 100% sure, Elena, I could hear her heartbeat and she's completely alive but she's strong and growing so fast, maybe this is natures way of balancing the scales; vampires can't procreate but my spell made it possible, maybe by making her vampire side dormant, it brings the balance back."
"So our baby is part human, part witch and even though it's dormant, part vampire?" She repeated, still trying to wrap her brain around it all.
"From what I could feel during the spell, yes," Bonnie smiled kindly at her best friend.
"I think I feel good about this," Elena eventually spoke, her gaze flickering from Bonnie to Elijah, "I still haven't completely processed all this but I feel relieved. What do you think?"
"I'm more than happy, my love, I've been feeling extremely guilty about potentially forcing our child to lead a vampire life because she come from me," sadness overcame him, "I never wanted that, this news is incredible."
She placed her forehead on his, a single tear rolling down her cheek, "I'm sorry you've been feeling that way, you should have told me,"
"I didn't want to burden you with something that couldn't be changed; regardless of what she is, nothing was going to change how much I love her already."
"There's still a bit more I need to tell you, nothing alarming," she explained before further panic was caused, the spell was originally designed to tell if the baby was healthy but Bonnie had re-written it to suit a species reveal, "from what I could tell from physical development, you're about 18 weeks along, so she's growing fast, her heart beat is steady and strong and she doesn't have anything wrong with her at all."
"That's amazing," Elenas heart warmed at her words, she pulled Bonnie into a tight embrace, for the first time since she'd learn't of her pregnancy, all of her anxiety went away, "thank you so much for this."
"This is an incredible thing you've done for us, I'm grateful," Elijah also was relieved and excited for what the future could bring them.
"Anytime," Bonnie smiled, still hugging her, "I'm always here for you, I just hope I've brought you some peace."
"You have, thank you," Elena was still holding onto her best friend, completely shocked and happy.
"I just wanted you both to know how perfect SHE is," she emphasised this time; it took a Elena a long moment but she finally clicked, she still had hold of Bonnie's arms as she pulled her head back, excitement plastered across her face.
"Wait! You mean," she paused for a second to look at Elijah and back to Bon, shaking her head in disbelief, "you mean, I was right?"
"YES!" She exclaimed loudly and excitedly, amused at how many times Bon had to say she before Elena finally got it.
"She's a girl!"
They had all stood from the ground and joined the rest of there family, everyone excited for them; Klaus had hugged Elena, the Salvatore's too, Bonnie, Caroline and Rebekah had been screaming and jumping around Elena for at least 5 minutes and she'd already called Jeremy with the news, in that moment, everything was perfect.