"Bonnie!" Elena exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her best friend and squeezing as tight as she could. "I missed you so much."

Bonnie squeezed her right back, resting her head against Elena's shoulder. "I missed you too. I am never going on tour again."

Elena laughed and pulled back, studying her friend's tired, but glowing, face for a moment. "I don't believe that for a second, Bonnie Bennett. You cannot deny the masses the wisdom of modern witchcraft's brightest star. Your instagram would riot."

Her best friend made a face. "Yeah, well, the money's nice, but if one more Karen treats me like her personal Tituba, I'm going to riot. Giving them tarot readings on instagram is a lot less work than pretending I care about their 'traumatized auras' in person."

Letting out a cackle, Elena hugged her again. "I love you. I'm so glad you're home. Caroline is just too high-energy to help me keep perspective."

"I thought you had Lexi for that," Bonnie teased, shooting a wink at the blonde who was carefully guarding their reunion scene in the middle of the airport.

Elena flapped her hands dismissively. "She's too chill. I don't think she understands the concept of stress."

Lexi chuckled. "Trust me, Elena, I understand stress. But I'm definitely glad you're back, Bonnie; I'm less likely to catch this one pacing at three in the morning and yelling at her laptop."

Elena grimaced. "Sometimes the story won't cooperate with me and I have to make it see things my way."

Her best friend giggled, and looped her left arm through Elena's, picking up her bag with her other hand. "I feel the same way about the tarot deck, except there is nothing I can do to make it see things my way. I don't tell the Karens that though."

"And that's why you are the darling of the mystical-obsessed masses who have no idea how actually awesome you are."

"Speaking of obsessed people," Lexi said dryly, interrupting their moment. "Can we please get you out of the middle of a crowded airport? You're supposed to meet Elijah back at the house to go over security there and show him the footage of the nights the notes were left."

"Elijah?" Bonnie asked curiously, looking up at Elena as they started to walk toward the exit. "Who's that?"

Elena scrunched her nose up. "He's the security expert Lexi recommended, the one that will hopefully hunt down that asshole and get rid of them once and for all." He was also incredibly handsome, charming, and made her stomach flutter when he said her name. It was very inconvenient.

"Good," Bonnie said sharply, squeezing Elena's arm with her own. "I want to see the sick fuck burn in whatever hell exists for putting you through this."

"Me too," Elena murmured. "Me too."

"If anyone can do it, Elijah can," Lexi told her in a reassuring tone, though her eyes never stopped scanning the people around them. "He's relentless and very good at his job. You're in good hands." She grinned. "I'm only worried you'll replace me when he gets done."

"Never," Elena said with a renewed smile. "You're family now and you're stuck with us, high stress levels and all."

Elena ran her hands through her hair, pulling it into a high ponytail she knew she'd end up taking down and redoing at least half a dozen times in the next hour. Now that she was actually doing something proactive about this damn stalker, she was restless and impatient and just wanted to get it done. She felt like she hadn't had a life since that first note appeared on her doorstep, and she was tired of feeling suffocated in her own skin. No one had that right to take her sense of freedom and security away like this, to make her feel fear in her own home. She growled under her breath and then looked up in surprise when she heard an amused chuckle.

"Is this part of the creative process that Alexandra was telling me about?" Elijah Mikaelson asked her from where he loomed in her office doorway, his dark eyes glinting with amusement.

She chuckled ruefully and shook her head, already reaching up to fidget with her ponytail. "No, that's part of the process I like to call 'Imagining 1000 Ways for my Stalker to Die a Painful Death.'" She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Maybe Jenna will publish it if I pitch it right."

Elijah smiled at her, a crooked thing that lifted only one side of his mouth. "I'd read it."

Struck with the sudden urge to ask if he's read any of her books, she bit down on it, not sure if she actually wanted the answer, and waved a hand in a general encompassing of her home office. "You wanted to walk through the house?"

He nodded, smile fading into a professional mien that was no less attractive but helpful for calming the roiling stew of her emotions. "Yes, and review your security footage for the twenty-four hours before and after each incident."

Elena grimaced. "I hope you don't want my company for the full watch, but you're welcome to review it here or take copies with you. I still have a guest room available and you can use my office if needed."

Lexi stayed with her, and had a room although she only used it when Caroline was on duty. Bonnie had moved in with her when all this started, moral support and a transition phase between the end of her last lease and her inevitable move-in with Vincent. Well, Elena thought it was inevitable, the two of them, while adorably in love, were agonizingly slow when it came to official relationship milestones. Not that Elena was going to complain about living with her best friend for as long as she could keep her.

Elena didn't like being alone. And not just because of her stalker. Even as a child she'd hated being the only one in a room, always seeking out her parents, or Jeremy after his birth. Her early years had been plagued by nightmares whenever she had to sleep alone at night, although therapy and time had helped. But then her parents had died in high school and it all flared back up again. She'd put off college until Jeremy graduated, and gone to the same university he chose. Moving to California had only been partly about her career and living closer to Aunt Jenna, and more about following Bonnie, since Jeremy had gently but firmly made it clear that she couldn't be his big sister shadow for the rest of his life.

Getting her own house had been one of the bravest things she'd ever done, and she deeply resented the stalker for stealing all her progress and pushing her into a life controlled by fear.

Elijah shook his head, bringing her out of her funk. "I won't impose on you for that long, copies will be fine."

Elena nodded and then pushed her chair back, finally standing up. "Well, let's get the tour started."

It didn't take long, her house was nice, but far smaller than the colonial home she'd grown up in. Technically only one story, and only four bedrooms because she'd converted the attic into her room. While her books sold well, it was her and Jeremy's inheritance that enabled her to be a homeowner at twenty-seven, particularly in the expensive suburb she called home, and she hadn't had the desire for extravagance.

Elijah was professional throughout, kindly taking no notice of the mess her bed was in after the nightmares that had ruined her sleep. He seemed to approve of her security precautions and promised to have an update soon after she left him in Lexi's hands for the security footage transfer and so the two old friends could catch up.

Leaving them to it, Elena wandered toward Bonnie's room, relieved to see her door ajar in symbolic welcome. She sprawled onto her best friend's bed, watching as Bonnie carefully unpacked all of her witchy tools.

"So he's hot," Bonnie said casually, not even looking in Elena's direction as she sorted through a bag of crystals.

Elena flushed, rolling over on her back to stare at the ceiling rather than letting her best friend see by her expression how much she agreed. "And still in the house, so hush."

Bonnie chuckled, not changing her volume at all. "I'm sure he's aware of his attractiveness. You should ask him out."

Reaching for a pillow, Elena blindly tossed it in Bonnie's direction. "I should let him do his job and you should tell me when Vincent is coming over for your reunion so I can make sure my noise-cancelling headphones are charged."

There was no audible answer, instead the pillow thwacked against her face and Elena spluttered, grabbing it in a defensive stance as she sat up, only to almost collide with Bonnie's grinning mien.

"Those are the words of a cornered woman, Elena Gilbert. You think he's hot, you think he's capable, and he is literally your knight in shining suit right now. And I'm pretty sure private security doesn't have 'don't date your client' clauses like bodyguards." Bonnie arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "And while I know you've had cause, it's been like, two years since you last got laid which is just tragic."

Elena buried her face in the pillow and groaned. Okay, yes, it had been a while, and Elijah Mikaelson was the first person in a long time to make her libido and her interest take notice. But clause or not, she thought it was a spectacularly bad idea to ask someone out you'd just hired to catch a stalker. Especially for some casual sex after what amounted to only three conversations.

"If you stop talking right now," she told Bonnie, lifting her head back up. "I promise to ask him out after this is all over."

Bonnie grinned and offered her a pinkie. "Deal."

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If you check out my tumblr, alllrightnow (don't miss the extra l), you can see some fun instagram edits I made for this story.