By the time they reached Mystic Falls, straight to the cattle ranch where Damon said everyone was kept, she could see that Damon was using Matt as bait.
She looked out the window, biting her lip before she turned to Kol.
"You have to help Matt."
"You're in no position to give me orders, darling. I don't care much about some human."
"I'll tell Rebekah about the link between me and Alaric myself. And then whatever you have planned can go down the drain." She could see him contemplating for a moment, before he left the car and was already pulling Damon off Matt. By the time she had gotten out of her car, he had killed a few deputies making her grimace at the sight, before going into the shed to hopefully free everyone.
"I thought you were going to ask for Klaus' help, what the hell are you doing with Kol?" Damon asked as she saw Stefan and Caroline walk out.
"Let's just say that he was the most accessible original, given that Klaus is who knows where. And that he's planning something." She left, walking over to Caroline instead. "You alright?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. I swear I thought they were going to kill us all." Caroline's voice sounded shaky despite her assurances and Elena wrapped an arm around her.
"Hey, it's alright you're fine now." She knew Caroline had a rough history getting kidnapped, probably around four times by now, at least twice within the last one year. "Why don't we go over at Bonnie's? Maybe we could spend some time at hers, I haven't had much of a chance to talk to her anyway." Caroline nodded, and the two of them walked towards her car.
"Is that Kol?" She asked pointing to where the original siblings were talking.
"Yeah, he broke into my car." She shrugged when Caroline gave her a questioning look, but turned her head to see Kol and locked eyes with him. She knew he was planning something, she just didn't know what it was, or how she fit into it, ifshe fit into it at all.
Elena sighed as she got out of bed. They'd had a late night at Bonnie's house, who told them that the witches were torturing her every time she did magic because of the dark magic she had performed to desiccate Alaric. The witches were mostly angry that Bonnie had put a wedge in their plan to kill Klaus, and Elena had felt another wave of guilt. Of course, Bonnie hadn't done it to save Klaus at all, but Abby and Caroline. She'd confirmed what Elena had been trying to convince everyone of, that killing an original wiped out their sire line.
Bear came into her room then and she saw Jeremy walking back to his room as she picked up the excited puppy. He was the only one in her life who likely wouldn't judge her for anything. She settled him next to her, her face turning sad as she pulled her bag over from its place on the floor. She'd been too tired to look at it the previous night, and had decided to leave it till now. She quickly got up and locked the door, the windows closed, and hoped that nobody disturbed her. She removed everything she'd gotten from the doctor, the pamphlets and the envelope, settling into a pillow as Bear cuddled by her side, as though sensing a change in her mood.
She saw the pamphlets first, adoption - yeah right, that would work. Someday the kid might lose his or her temper, knowing the father, and then just turn on a full moon night. Or maybe just want blood. That was if the adopted parents survived. She saw the next one - termination, and it made something settle in her stomach. She didn't mind it, but she knew she wouldn't be able to do it. Whatever it was, vampire, werewolf, hybrid, she'd already somehow grown attached to it. She had even taken to observing herself in the mirror - particularly her mid section, as she told herself it was to make sure she wasn't showing.
Which meant that she was still lost, and hadn't gotten any answers. She just wished there had been a pamphlet on how to break the news to the father. Who was a thousand year old immortal that thought he couldn't have kids. She grimaced suddenly, wondering if he had other kids. Well, this baby had been the result of him being a hybrid, but Esther had mentioned something about doppelgänger blood, so hopefully no one else was in this situation.
She tried not to notice how that thought settled her jealousy and possessiveness.
The important thing was that she did have to tell him about this.
She knew it was a daunting task, and she would have to pick the right time. They would also have to be alone, well, she was used to that by now - it was only when they were alone that they could talk about anything meaningful anyway. Then she'd just tell him and hopefully it wouldn't be too hard to convince him.
She bit her lip at the thought.
That was a lie, and she knew it. He was headstrong, and stubborn and impulsive, but he would just have to deal with it, just as she was. He was equally responsible for all of this.
She opened the envelope next and something fell out of it. She picked up the picture, her breath catching as she saw that it was the ultrasound picture. It was a tiny little thing, barely discernible in all the black and grey echoes, but she felt an intense connection to it. She blinked away the tears that had formed and put the picture back in the envelope carefully. She looked at the prescription next and realised she would have to make another out of town trip, because it was a small town and she knew people already talked about her.
She put everything back inside her bag, before getting up to get ready, Bear at her heels.
When she got down for breakfast, she saw Jenna and Jeremy sitting in silence, and wondered what was wrong this time. She asked as much and sat down with them when they told her that Pastor Young's house had caught a fire, and twelve people had died.
At this rate, Elena thought privately, funeral houses were going to be the most profitable business in Mystic Falls. It had been four days since the fire that had killed most of the council members, and the town was holding a memorial for them all. She had volunteered to help out at the church, hoping it would take her mind off her own problems. Klaus was due to return almost any day now, she had no idea where he had gone to hide Alaric's body, which meant she would have to tell him soon.
She walked around the pews, setting the hymnals in each seat, her feet aching in the heels she was wearing. Well, at least once she told Klaus, she could tell everyone else, she'd have to, and then she could hopefully get away with flip-flops. For now, she'd decided to wear every nice dress in her cupboard while it still fit her. She saw Matt and Jeremy working as they were talking to a girl around her brothers age, before she was being pointed out and the girl moved towards her.
"Hey Elena." The girl said and she frowned, she was sure she'd heard that voice before, and there was something familiar about her.
"April?"
"Yeah, I guess I'm unrecognisable now." The April Young in her mind was a child, about twelve years old, trailing after her with questions, wanting to show her new dresses, it wasn't this girl who looked weighed down by grief. Elena knew exactly how that felt and wished April didn't have to go through it.
"I'm just used to seeing the kid I used to babysit, not the girl in front of me. When did you get back to town?"
"About two days ago, I came as soon as I heard."
"Oh yeah, of course. You've been gone for a while now. I think the last time we met was, well, it was at my parents' funeral."
"Yeah, It was, dad wanted me to stay at boarding school after that. Um….how are you doing?" Elena gestured to the other girl and they both sat down on one of the pews.
"I'm fine, how have you been holding up? I can imagine how difficult it must be."
"Yeah, I - you know I was just hanging out with my friends when the principal dragged me out to give me the news. I thought it was some really mean spirited prank at first." Elena could see the sadness in April's eyes, it was the same that she had sported for months after her parents had died, that she still did sometimes. "Then I realised it was true….and I couldn't really think much. I have to - say something at the…when it's time to talk, and I'm not sure what to say, sorry my dad killed everyone with him?"
"It's alright April, I know you'll find the right words, I'll help you with it if you want." The other girl looked grateful, and Elena relaxed a little into the bench.
"I just don't get it," the other girls voice sounded pained, "I smoked one day before coming home, and he was able to tell immediately, how could he not know about the gas leaking?" Elena frowned herself but reached up to squeeze her shoulder.
"I know it doesn't mean much April, but I'm really sorry all of this happened. I'll just arrange the seating, people will be here soon, and then I'll come find you okay? Help you with the speech and we can talk about anything you want." The younger girl nodded and Elena got up, continuing her work. She thought about what April had said, wondering if the fire hadn't been an accident at all. She wondered who could've done it, then remembered the town she lived in, and wondered who wouldn't have done it. Likely not Stefan or Caroline, maybe Damon or Kol or Rebekah. Even then, the bodies weren't drained dry, but burnt.
She was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt a presence behind her, and turned around to see that no one was there. She frowned as she made to move but stopped when she saw him on the upper level, waving at her.
She was going to kill him, she thought as he disappeared into the rafters and she looked around before following after him. Part of her was glad that he was back, the other part was extremely overwhelmed, her mind whirring on how to break the news to him. She could just tell him, just say the words and then deal with his reaction.
But it wasn't fair of her to make everyone else deal with it too.
Maybe she could wait a little while longer.
She felt someone grab her elbow and pull her into a dark room, and sighed as if annoyed.
"Hello love," his breathe tickled her ear as he talked and she turned around to look at him.
"Hey, what are you doing sneaking around like a creep? You know you can just talk to me." She gave him an unimpressed look as he grinned down at her like a Cheshire Cat.
"Well, it's a church, I wasn't sure I should enter through the front door."
"I bet you went to all the churches and talked about how dangerous vampires were." He let out an amused chuckle at her words.
"You should've been around in the thirteen hundreds love, we could've had fun."
"Doing what? Making fun of all the priests?" She asked teasingly.
"Look at you love, being a good Christian girl." She tried not to focus on his gaze even as she felt a blush rise.
"Are you trying to tell me about some weird corruption kink you have?" She watched his eyes widen in surprise for a moment before he slipped a hand over her neck. "Because it's a little too ordinary for you."
"Well, look at you being bold today." The pads of his fingers slipped over scar,, making her breathe hitch, and she knew the exact moment his eyes darkened with lust.
"Klaus, we're at a memorial."
"People die everyday love, doesn't mean we have to put our lives on hold."
"Uh huh, that's what you don't wanna put on hold." He smirked knowingly at her, his other hand slipping down her hip as his thumb grazed her bottom lip, his eyes dark.
"I won't do anything love, you decide what you want to do." Even if she wanted to, she wouldn't have been able to pull back. She knew that the next time they met, she would have to tell him about her pregnancy, and then they would both have to deal with whatever happened next. She wanted to have one last time with that was carefree, relatively, and where they didn't have to think, and plan, and analyse.
She slid her hands up his chest, her decision made, fisting her hands in the front of his henley and pulling him down towards her, their lips meeting passionately. She gasped into his mouth as he pulled her into him, his hand sliding over the curve of her ass as he pushed his thigh in between her legs. She pushed back against him, her lips coming off before she trailed them down his neck, biting into the dip in his neck, sucking at it making him groan. When she pulled back from him, he was looking at her with surprise.
"Feeling possessive, are we?" He asked her in a whisper, and she answered by pulling the grey t-shirt over to expose his chest. She pressed kisses over his skin, spurred on by sinful desire, until he hoisted her up, her legs wrapping around his waist, a moan slipping out of her as her core came in contact with his erection, and he flipped them around so she had her back against the wall.
Her fingers fumbled slightly as she undid his belt and jeans, her hand slipping inside to wrap itself around him, feeling his heat against her skin.
"You might want to stay quiet," he whispered in her ear as he pulled her panties down her legs as he put her down for a second, letting them fall to the floor, whining at the loss, "there's people downstairs." She gulped as she realised the very real risk they were taking, there were at least four vampires downstairs, none of whom would approve of this. But, they were so close now, and well-
They didn't get any time to talk before he left all those weeks ago and the terror of almost losing him was still eating at her.
"Okay," She pulled him out, his finger rubbing against the bundle of nerves making her throw her head back, and her picked her up again, most of her weight resting on him.
"I missed you," he murmured the words into her skin as his head settled in the crook of her neck, barely audible, and she wrapped herself closer to him, fingers digging into his skin. This was the only way they ever seemed to confess their feelings, in the dark, the fear of losing each other fresh in their veins and their souls.
"I missed you too, I- want you," she whispered into his ear, and he lined himself with her. She tried not to focus on how she tried to cover her confession with her carnal desires, her bleeding heart split open as she felt him against her.
There was nothing romantic about this, nothing refined, the wall digging into her back, her thighs aching, surrounded by people who had come to attend a funeral, yet she had never felt such intense intimacy before. All she wanted was to be connected with him again, to forget where he began and she ended, to be merged into one with him. It wasn't something she'd ever confess to him, not in those words, but she already had, in others.
He pushed inside her slowly and she bit his neck, her fingers digging in his skin as she felt him stretch her, adopting a rhythm quickly. She pushed back, trying to keep up with him, clenching around him as he seemed to hit that spot within her almost immediately, like he had mapped her body out by this point. She could see the effort it took for him to keep his jaw clenched, and she moved to pepper light kisses along it.
The only sound in the room was the sound of skin slapping skin, their heavy breathes mixed into each other's, his fingers playing with her nub making her bite him occasionally. She could feel it building within her, she wasn't sure how long she could last, and she entwined her arms behind his neck, burying her head in the crook of his neck as she felt herself clamping down on him, his release right after hers.
She take a few minutes to calm down after he let her down, and then she started fixing her clothes, trying to avoid his gaze.
She really needed to start controlling herself around him, they could've been caught right now, and in the worst way. She felt him grasp her chin, turning her head to look at him and she saw her vulnerability reflected in his face, like the night of the ball, like the night at his house, when he thought she was trying to kill him.
"Klaus…." She could tell him, right then, or at least ask to talk later, he had every right to know.
"The Salvatores are looking for you." She sighed slightly and nodded, her hand wrapping around his wrist.
"We should talk, later."
"Sure." She looked away for a moment, feeling the wind on her face, and when she looked back, he was gone.
She went down to the washroom, washing her face and her hands and her neck, spraying as much perfume as she could to wash away the smell of sex, and him, that was no doubt clinging to her. She heard voices outside the door, and went outside to see Damon talking to an unknown man.
"Elena, have you been here this entire time?" She raised her eyebrow at him, not giving him a response as she closed the door behind her.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," she told the man and he shrugged.
"No problem, I'm Connor Jordan, I just came here a couple days back," he extended his hand out to her which she grasped, shaking it, to his apparent surprise. "I'm here to investigate the fire at the Young house."
"Oh, I think you should talk to April Young, she's-"
"Jenna's looking for you Elena." Damon interjected rudely, making her frown and he grasped her elbow, pulling her with him.
"Damon," she hissed at him as she threw an apologetic look over her shoulder, but the vampire didn't let go of her until they were outside. "What the hell Damon?"
"That guy is bad news." He looked at her as he said it, letting her go once he caught sight of Tyler and Caroline.
"What do you mean?"
"He's the new vampire hunter in town, tried to kill the hybrid last night." Damon was staring at her while gesturing to Tyler, and her eyes widened as she looked at Tyler and Caroline as they settled in their seats.
"What? Is he okay? I should talk to them."
"He's fine, the important thing is to get rid of this hunter." His jaw was clenched as he looked back at where the hunter was last with anger, and Elena whirled to face him.
"Are you kidding me? Twelve people just died Damon, this town can't take another death."
"Don't worry, I'll bury him."
"Oh, really? When do you ever clean up after your kills?" She thought back to the numerous times Damon had been sloppy, the many times he had gone against every thing she had said and did what he thought was best.
"Excuse me? I haven't left a body around in ages!" His words were hushed, but she recognises the angry that was dripping from them, his storming blue eyes looking at her affronted.
"Well, what about the Young farm?" She felt every vampire in the room staring at them now, Stefan looked as if he was ready to intercept.
"What about the Young farm?" Damon's voice was softer now, but his were cutting, challenging, as if he was daring her to talk.
"Did you do it?" Her voice was just as soft, just as challenging and she tried to avoid the hurt that flashed in his eyes for a moment.
"Did you ask your buddy Kol if he did it?" The tone of his voice, cutting, hurt, angry, made her wince
"I haven't had the chance yet, but I will when I meet him." Damon walked away from her, his shoulders tight underneath his suit jacket and she took a moment to collect herself. The truth was that she hated being manhandled, she hated when he thought he could just grab her, treat her as if he owned her.
She tried very hard not to think about how similar Klaus could be with Damon. Worse, in fact.
She saw the concerned look that Jenna gave her and just shook her head, settling in between her and Matt. The last thing she wanted to do was to get too close to someone who could smell him on her.
In the end, Damon almost killed the hunter.
It was a very near thing, Elena had gone up to speak a few words about Pastor Young, mostly because April was nowhere to be seen, when something shifted. She could see it in the way Stefan's eyes began to change, Damon's discomfort even Tyler and Caroline weren't okay. She wasn't entirely sure what it was but she kept her speech short.
When she walked back, Stefan was standing beside Matt and she slipped between them.
"What's wrong?"
"The hunter's here. There's fresh blood in the church, someone's bleeding out just to draw us out."
"It'll be fine, Stefan, just don't turn around." It was then that Tyler went up to the mic, and then a gunshot rang out, making Elena duck on instinct. There was chaos in the church as Tyler fell and everyone ran screaming. She saw Caroline and Carol Lockwood run towards Tyler, and when she was certain he was going to be fine, she exited the church from the main door.
A moment later, she felt herself being pulled away from the crowd and towards the back of the church again.
"What was that?" Klaus asked angrily and she sighed in relief when she was next to him again.
"That was the new vampire hunter apparently." She said as she turned to him.
"There was blood inside the church." He sounded a little too impressed for her liking. As if he admired the hunter and his tricks.
"Yeah, I think he wanted to draw out the vampires, so when Tyler went up to talk….."
"Of course, so he's not dead."
"No, but maybe that's only because he doesn't know about hybrids yet."
"Why do like staying in this town so much?" He questioned her, and she sighed internally, she was hoping that he would drop the issue of them continuing to stay in Mystic Falls. Well, her, mostly.
"It's my home Klaus, we've talked about this, I can't abandon my family and friends." It was the one disagreement they kept coming back to.
"Then don't, tell them to leave as well."
"It's not that easy. Anyway, I'm fine, but I should go, everyone's probably wondering where I am." She could see that he wasn't pleased by her answer, but she didn't want to uproot her life just yet.
"Fine."
"Wait." He stopped mid step and frowned at her, raising one eyebrow.
"I met Kol the other day, he-"
"What? What was he doing here?" She watched him through narrowed eyes, his reaction wasn't what she had been expecting at all.
"Not here, I had gone out of town, you know for shopping," he didn't look as if he believed her lie, but even she could hear the people who were freaked out and the ambulance, so she was sure he wouldn't be able to hear her heartbeat if he wasn't looking for it. "And he broke into my car. Although he did help, well technically he did all the heavy lifting, but he freed Caroline and Stefan from the council. And Rebekah."
"What did he say?"
"Um…well, he thinks I'm sleeping with you, or with Elijah." She could see the dark look in his eyes when she mentioned Elijah, his eyes turning hard at the mention of his brother.
"And what did you tell you him?" His voice was a little strained, and she looked at him, slightly annoyed over the possessive tone.
"Nothing. There's something else too, it's what I wanted to talk to you about." His attention was somewhere else before his eyes snapped to meet hers.
"Your aunt's looking for you." It was the only thing he said before he disappeared in burst of air, and Elena walked back to see that, yes, Jenna was looking for her.
