AN: Hey guys. With school plus being considered essential at my job, this semester was long. Then Covid-19 happened and those two things seemed to take up all of my time. I got a new laptop this school year and it malfunctioned at the start of March. I did all of my school work on my phone until my finals week. So I am very very sorry about the lack of posting, but I hate editing on a mobile phone. I hope you're all staying safe and doing well :)


Jenna sighs loudly as Elena walks down the stairs for breakfast.

"Who were you on the phone with?" Jeremy wonders as he looks up from his phone. Alaric's flipping pancakes but he does turn around in interest. Alaric has a way of making the whole house smell good when he cooks. Right now it smells like butter, vanilla, and maple syrup. The real stuff, Alaric is particular about that like he is with his bourbon.

"Your Uncle John. I told him I was going to sell your dad's office and he told me he was on his way to Mystic Falls. No doubt on his way to argue with me about it," Jenna groans. Alaric offers a sympathetic smile as he sets a plate of pancakes down next to his wife. Neither Jeremy or Elena have decided to follow in their dad's footsteps, and there's no point to keeping it.

"Well, if he's here soon, it'll be a good opportunity for Elijah and Anna to meet him," Alaric says. Jenna resists the urge to roll her eyes. That's the most optimistic thing they could probably say, he's insufferable.

"We haven't really gotten to talk to either of them," Jenna muses. She shoots a look to Jeremy, who pretends not to see by looking at his phone. Elena sips her coffee, pretending like she didn't hear that. Elijah and Klaus had some sort of plans this morning, so she's planning on girl time with Caroline after breakfast. Maybe Anna could join them some time, Elena thinks. Still, bringing Elijah by to meet him briefly might make him feel more accepted into her family, and John'll probably needle her more than Jenna. On the other hand, she should also get to know Elijah's siblings, wherever they are.

"Well, Anna and I have a hike planned so, unfortunately, you won't see much of us today," Jeremy informs the table. Elena's not the only one who raises an eyebrow at the news.

"Since when do you hike?" Jenna asks.

"Can't a guy branch out?" Jeremy wonders. Alaric sets down a plate of pancakes in front of him and gestures to Elena in question. She shakes her head.

"I have some gear I can lend you, just in case. See me before you two leave, okay?" Alaric asks. Jeremy nods at that.

Elena's phone beeps and she downs the rest of her coffee.

"Caroline's on her way. I'll see you guys later," Elena excuses herself.


It's easy to talk about everything except what's on her mind, but it finally slips out after the second boutique. She and Caroline are the only two customers in the store that she can see.

"Has Klaus talked to you about New Orleans at all?" Elena wonders, looking at a blouse that seems perfect for her interview. She doesn't really need it, but they are shopping, she might as well get it. Caroline shakes her head. Elena lowers her voice as she shows the blouse to Caroline for approval.

"He reminded me that they helped found New Orleans. I was talking about how we really should go down and talk to Bonnie about all of this because I don't want to do it over the phone. Elijah mentioned he owns property down there and offered to be my tour guide," Elena tells her. Caroline wiggles her eyebrows.

"You sure that's all he offered?" Caroline quips. Elena rolls her eyes.

"Yes or no?" Elena redirects.

"Yes. You have to get that blouse," Caroline tells her matter-of-factly.

Elena's phone beeps and she ignores it. It's a generic tone, which means it isn't Jenna, Jeremy, Alaric, Elijah, or Bonnie. It can wait.

"He hasn't mentioned it. Has Elijah shown you how fast they move?" Caroline wonders. Elena nods, she forgets sometimes that the little experience she has with the supernatural still beats Caroline's.

"I think I'm gonna join them in a few years," Caroline admits. Elena freezes for a moment. Her phone beeps again and she ignores it.

"As in, you're going to turn?" Elena asks. Caroline nods with a shrug of her shoulders.

"There aren't any drawbacks. It's too early to say it, but I'm falling in love with him. I want forever. I don't want to grow old and die," Caroline murmurs. Elena bites her lip to contemplate that.

Elijah will look perfect as he does now, in twenty, forty, sixty years. She might forget who he even is with age. Caroline only really has her mom and dad to pass on. She hasn't talked about her dad much lately, but maybe there are more people who she cares about on his side. When Elena dies, she wants to see her parents again. She'll want to see Jenna and Alaric. The thought Caroline will outlive her makes her get goosebumps. It's hard to comprehend.

"Have you considered it?" Caroline wonders, looking at earrings. This really isn't the time or the place to have this conversation, but there's no one around.

"I have. I just always thought I'd die and see my parents again. Join them wherever they are. I don't know if I'd want to be around forever," she confesses. Elijah's seen ten centuries come and go already. Elena hasn't even been alive for a fourth of one century. It's overwhelming and she feels her throat tighten with anxiety at the thought.

Elena's phone beeps again, but with Jenna's text tone.

Two texts are from John, one saying they need to talk, and another before that mentioning he wants to meet her soulmate. The text from Jenna is a few angry emojis, John doesn't want to sell the practice, but since Jeremy and Elena are of age, it's in their hands.

It's been forever since she's really thought of the practice. It's been leased to another doctor in town for a few years, but that doctor wants to buy it now. Unless Jeremy decides he wants to be a doctor today, there's no point in holding onto it. Some things need to be let go.

She sends a text asking Jenna how long John's planning on staying in town. Jenna tells her she doesn't know, but John and Alaric are talking in the backyard and she could provide a rescue soon.

Elena sighs. She knows that she and Caroline need to have a real conversation about this with no distractions, about their futures, and the vampires they're fated to be with. Caroline's holding a scarf but turns to Elena.

"You don't have to know right now," Caroline says sagely. There are some intimidating things when it comes to considering vampirism. The possibility of killing someone, being frozen in time, and being able to just turn off her humanity. Drinking blood for the rest of her life sounds so strange.

"Come on, we've got one more store to hit before we should head back. I'm gonna bring lunch to the station," Caroline grins. The topic of immortality is forgotten in favor of checking out.


Elena asks Elijah to drive over to her house, to arrive at about the same time as when Caroline will drop her off. She updates him of the situation as Jenna sends a few more emojis.

"Think about what I said, okay? You're gonna kick ass in that interview," Caroline grins. Elena offers a smile in return at that.

"I hope so," she replies. Caroline drives away and Elena finds herself standing in her driveway for a moment, unwilling to go inside just yet. A familiar black car appears in front of her. Elijah's wearing a sweater and jeans.

"We should probably rescue Jenna before she kills Uncle John," she jokes. He gives her a slight grin.

"I'm inviting you into the house and the Gilbert madness," she tells him seriously.

"What about Jenna?" he wonders.

"Jenna was a Sommers, then a Saltzman, she just gets to deal with it, she doesn't have it," Elena explains, reaching for his hand. He can hear three heartbeats in the house.

"Come in with me, Elijah," Elena says, hand firmly pulling him across the threshold. He's pleasantly surprised at that, he had assumed that she didn't want him to visit her, or perhaps Alaric had instilled the importance of not giving vampires invitations.

Alaric's eyes narrow minutely while John shoots them a curious look. Jenna looks happy to see them.

"Uncle John, this is Elijah, my soulmate," Elena introduces him. She watches them exchange pleasantries and as they move to shake hands, she lets go of his free hand.

"Does anyone else want coffee? I'm gonna make a fresh pot to see if that'll help my headache," Elena says, glancing back to the living room.

"I'll take one, lot of cream and sugar," Jenna raises a hand.

"I'd like a cup as well," Elijah tells her. Elena measures out enough grounds to make strong coffee and tunes out the conversation in the living room. Jenna always uses the same mug when she drinks coffee, Alaric has a few she likes to alternate between. Her favorite is blue with stars on the inside and picks a black mug for Elijah.

Maybe tonight she'll take him out to the Grill so they can shoot pool with their soulmates for dinner. It would be nice to see Klaus and Anna out in public, having fun. The Mikaelsons really haven't had much of a public presence since the ball they held ages ago. She wonders what their excuse was for their siblings all leaving Mystic Falls and their mother and father's marked absence. If Esther had succeeded, it might have been seen as a family murder-suicide, if there were even bodies at the end. A shiver runs through her and she blinks. Coffee's almost ready.

Speaking of grilling-she can hear John asking Elijah all sorts of questions. She hands Jenna her mug first, then takes her mug and Elijah's and sits next to him on the couch. Her free hand finds his again, and she feels his ring against her fingers.

"Do you really want to let go of your dad's practice?" John asks. Elena tightens her grip on her coffee cup.

"I'm not going to use it and neither is Jeremy. Doctor Hamilton

has been leasing that property for years. She wants to buy it. Jenna brought it up to Jeremy and me and we agreed we should sell it," Elena tells him. John frowns at that.

"Jeremy's still out hiking with his soulmate?" John asks, looking to Jenna and Alaric.

"Yeah, the cell reception up there is crap. I gave them some gear but I doubt he'd be able to text you back for a while," Alaric excuses. Elijah can hear it as a lie but based on the way John's grilling Elena- it's probably an act of mercy for Jeremy. John purses his lips at that but accepts it.

"I think about them every day. But the practice isn't all that's left of my dad. It's been a few years. We're ready to let go of it but it doesn't mean we're letting go of him," Elena explains. John sighs, but after a moment, he nods.

"Fine," he agrees. Elena hasn't mentioned her uncle much and it's not hard to see why. He seems to effortlessly grate on everyone's nerves. He even tried to crush Elijah's hand when they shook hands. It would take less than a second to break all of the bones in the human's hand, but he ignored the urge. Considering this town has a supernatural hating Council, it's in his best interest to blend in, for his sake and Elena's.

He squeezes Elena's hand reassuringly and she relaxes into his side.

"So how long have you two known each other?" John asks.

"We met this summer actually, I was out running and I bumped into him," Elena tells him, with a practiced smile on her face. John doesn't need to know she saw him kill one of her vampire kidnappers the day they met and she never actually mentioned it to Jenna or Alaric anyway. Elijah feels her stiffen and wonders what she's thinking about.

She ran to Elijah's house that night but she ran away from him the night of the ball. Not one of her finest moments, she thinks.

"Do you have any family in town?" John asks. Elijah shakes his head.

"My parents died when I was young, so it's just been my siblings and me for a long time. They're all over the States," Elijah answers. Elena keeps her face blank. Mentioning Klaus or the fact he's Caroline's soulmate is unnecessary. Even Alaric didn't dig this much. It's almost like her uncle's gearing up to give Elijah a shovel talk.

"What are your plans after the summer ends?" John wonders.

"It's up to Elena. I'd follow her anywhere," he answers truthfully. Elena squeezes his hand.

"When are you leaving Mystic Falls? I need to work on dinner," Jenna says. John raises his eyebrows.

"I won't be staying for dinner. I try to make a habit of not eating anything nuclear," John retorts as his phone rings. He looks at the name and bids them a short goodbye. As soon as the front door is shut behind him, Jenna isn't the only one who breathes a sigh of relief.

"God, I thought he'd never leave," Jenna complains. Alaric nods in agreement.

"I was thinking of Elijah and me meeting up with Jeremy and Anna at the Grill. Shoot some pool, let you and Alaric have the house to yourselves. Maybe have your own date night," Elena suggests. Elijah can see the plans forming in Alaric's brain. Elena begins texting Caroline and Jeremy. She makes a mental note to get Klaus and Anna's numbers.

"That sounds nice," Jenna agrees.