Elena, as it turned out, did not handle pregnancy very well.

The initial nausea eventually wore off, but the cravings and mood-swings were stuff of legends.

To avoid further gossip when the babies were born and promptly split between two sets of parents, Liz and Carol began to perpetuate the story that Elena had offered to be a surrogate for Damon and Katherine, and that she had somehow fallen pregnant with her own child at the same time.

After three months, when Elena was just beginning to show, Caroline turned up on the doorstep with Hope and a box of beignets.

Elena cried.

Once Hope was playing, Caroline guided Elena to the couch, letting her cry on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Elena sniffled finally. "I have no idea why I'm like this."

"Because your hormones are all over the place," Caroline answered.

"I'm dead, I shouldn't have any hormones," Elena said.

"Yeah, well, welcome to motherhood," Caroline said. "It sucks; you're gonna love it. Hope, not up the ladder!"

Hope pouted. "But …"

"Not up the ladder," Caroline repeated. "If you want something that's out of your reach, ask and I will get it for you."

Hope sighed. "Mommy, can you get that book for me please?"

Caroline smiled. "Yes, I can; thank you for asking so nicely." She handed Elena the box. "Have a beignet; it'll make you feel better." She hopped up and went over to her daughter, picking her up so she could point out the book. "It's probably not got many pictures, sweetheart. And the words might be quite small."

Hope shrugged. "That's okay. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Caroline returned to Elena's side, detouring to grab some napkins so Elena could clean up the powdered sugar.

"She's reading already?" Elena asked quietly.

Caroline shook her head. "Not really. She knows her letters and she can put together some of the smaller words. Mostly Hope reading means looking at a book and making up a story. So how are you?"

"I'm either crying or screaming," Elena said flatly. "And not in a good way."

"It will pass," Caroline said. "I know it doesn't feel like it right now, but it will. It gets better."

Elena heaved a sigh. "I just … I'm having trouble. But I can't imagine going through it along with all the fears you had."

"That wasn't fun," Caroline conceded. "But that doesn't mean that yours is easy. Everyone experiences pregnancy differently. Mom once told me that when your mom was pregnant with Jeremy, she just glowed all the way through it with no symptoms whatsoever and everyone hated her for it."

Elena smiled weakly and didn't respond, picking another beignet instead.

Caroline hesitated. Miranda and Grayson were still sore subjects for Elena and Jeremy - sometimes they were happy to talk about them; other times, the mere mention of them would send them into a slump.

"When I found out, I wanted Mom," Elena said after a few minutes, before Caroline could decide what to say next. "And then Jo came and … And that was almost as good. But now …"

"You still want your mom," Caroline finished, but Elena shook her head.

"No. Well, yes," she added. "But I know what Mom would say. I …" She paused for a second, then blurted out, "I want to talk to Isobel - is that weird?"

Caroline blinked in surprise. "Um … No? No, I don't think that's weird. I mean, she was the one that was pregnant with you, so she might have some kind of tips of dealing with whatever weird cravings you inherited from her."

"It's not just that," Elena said quietly. "I never got a chance to speak to Isobel - not the real Isobel anyway. The more I think back, the more I think … I think she turned her humanity off when she became a vampire. I didn't realise it at the time, because I had no frame of reference, but there was … There was nothing in her eyes. The only time she really talked to me was just before she died, and she was under compulsion, so I've got no idea if she was telling me the truth." She fell silent, munching on her beignet.

Caroline waited.

"I guess I just have questions," Elena said finally. "I mean, I can guess why she gave me up; she was a teenager, but …" she trailed off, a strange look crossing her face.

Caroline tensed. "Do you need a bucket?"

"What? No." Elena shook her head. "No. Jenna told me that Isobel was fifteen when she had me."

Caroline thought for a second. "Well, that sounds about right; I assume she was about Ric's age and he was about five or six years older than Jenna, right?"

"Caroline, you don't understand," Elena said. "She was fifteen."

The expression on Elena's face was clearing now, into something Caroline didn't quite want to think about.

"Okay, honey, I might need to buy a vowel here," Caroline said. "What was wrong about her being fifteen?"

"How old was John?" Elena whispered.

That pulled Caroline up short. She had never really thought about Elena and Jeremy's uncle as being 'old', because he had the kind of face that didn't really betray an age, but then again, he wasn't that much younger than Grayson. "I … don't know."

"He was a year younger than Dad," Elena said flatly. "One year. Dad was twenty-eight when I was born."

"So John was twenty-seven," Caroline finished, "when he got a fifteen-year-old pregnant."

"I need to speak to her," Elena murmured, leaning into her. "I need to speak to Isobel."

"What about Jeremy?" Caroline asked, wrapping an arm around her. "Could he not form a link with Isobel?"

Elena was silent for a few minutes. "I don't really want to have that conversation through Jeremy. It's not fair."

"Well, what about Bonnie?" Caroline asked. "Maybe she knows a spell that would let you speak to her? And if she doesn't, then I'll ask Freya, Davina and Sophie. Someone must have something."

Elena managed a small smile. "Thanks, Care." She dug out her cell-phone and sent a quick text to Bonnie. "No time like the present."

"Auntie Elena?" Hope asked, trotting over with her book. "Are you sad?"

Elena gave her a smile. "No, sweetie, I'm not sad. The babies are making me a bit tired, that's all."

Hope tilted her head and looked at her in a way that reminded Caroline of Klaus when he thought she wasn't being entirely honest with him. "Can you read to me please?"

Elena's smile grew and she patted the space beside her. "Of course I can." She took the book from Hope so the little girl could scramble up on to the couch. "Oh Alice in Wonderland! This is one of my favourites."

Just as Elena opened the book, the doorbell rang.

"That was quick," Caroline said. "You only just texted."

"That's not Bonnie," Elena said. "She doesn't bother with the doorbell anymore."

"I'll get it," Caroline said hastily, before Elena could move. "You stay there."

"If you're sure," Elena said, more out of habit than any real concern.

Caroline opened the front door to a man - no, vampire - he was wearing a daylight ring. "Can I help you?"

"Ah, I hope so."

British accent. Caroline sighed internally. The track record of Mystic Falls and charming vampires with British accents was not good.

Her own, on the other hand, was much better.

"I'm looking for Damon Salvatore."

Caroline narrowed her eyes, at which his smile only got wider. "Why?"

He chuckled. "My, you are a suspicious one, aren't you? We're old friends."

"Old friends as in old friends?" Caroline asked. "Or old friends as in old enemies? Because with Damon the two seem to coincide a lot."

At this he burst out laughing. "You are absolutely right, love - absolutely right! But, no, actually old friends. I don't mean him any harm."

Caroline observed him for a second more, then stepped back. "You may as well come in then. I'm sure Damon will be back soon."

"Thank you," he said, stepping inside. "And who might you be?"

"Caroline Mikealson," she said, holding out a hand. "Another old friend."

"Lorenzo St. John," he said, brushing a kiss against her knuckles. "Call me Enzo. Which kind of old friend are you then?"

Caroline smiled. "Depends on my mood. And his."

Enzo hesitated. "Mikaelson? As in …?"

"As in those Mikaelsons, yes," Caroline said cheerfully. "By marriage, I'm sure you'll be pleased to know. Elena, this is Enzo; old friend of Damon's."

Elena smiled up at him. "Hi, welcome to Mystic Falls. Don't drink anything."

"Oh?"

"Everything's laced with vervain," Caroline explained. "Damon and Stefan are out of town looking for blood bags. Elena is Damon's sister-in-law," she added.

"Well, it is lovely to meet you," Enzo said, bending to kiss her hand as well. "And who might this lovely young lady be?"

"This is my daughter, Hope," Caroline said. "It's story-time. Speaking of," she added, "how did you meet Damon?"

Enzo flinched. "It's not exactly a child-friendly story."

"You can use the kitchen," Elena offered. "That is, if you want to tell it."

Enzo gave a tight smile. "If Damon hasn't mentioned me, then he hasn't told the story, and I feel that should be his choice."

"Of course," Caroline agreed. "Still, have a seat; can I get you a drink of anything?"

Bonnie showed up ten minutes later, somewhat taken aback at the presence of another vampire.

"Auntie Bonnie!" Hope slid down from the couch before anyone else could respond, running to hug her.

Bonnie knelt down hastily to catch her. "Hey trouble."

Elena marked the page and closed the book. "Do you want to take this with you, Caroline? She'll probably want to hear the end of it, although it feels a little dry for a four year old."

"You should hear the books Elijah reads to her," Caroline said. "I'm surprised he hasn't got her started on Shakespeare." She took the book and slipped it into her bag. "Hope, sweetheart, time to go."

"But Auntie Bonnie just got here," Hope said, pouting.

"I know, but we're going to meet Grandma for dinner," Caroline said.

"Tell you what," Bonnie said to Hope. "I need to help Auntie Elena with a spell now. But how about you and Mommy come and have breakfast with me tomorrow and you can show me what Auntie Davina and Auntie Sophie have been teaching you."

Hope's face lit up. "Mommy, can we?"

"Of course we can," Caroline said. "Now give Auntie Elena a hug and thank her for letting you borrow the story."

Hope ran back to hug Elena. "Thank you, Auntie Lena."

"You're welcome." Elena kissed her head and heaved herself off the couch to give Caroline a hug. "Thanks for the tea and sympathy."

"It'll all be worth it, Elena," Caroline said. "Promise. Nice to meet you, Enzo; I'm sure I'll be seeing you around. See you tomorrow, Bonnie."

The front door closed behind her and Hope, and Elena heaved a sigh, rubbing her belly. "It's like a hurricane."

"Two hurricanes," Bonnie said with a fond smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a beached whale," Elena answered. "This is Enzo, by the way; he's an old friend of Damon's … Speak of the devil," she added, hearing the Camaro pull up outside. "Damon, you have a visitor."

With a slam of the front door, Damon was standing in front of them, making Bonnie jump a little. "For the love of … Stop doing that!"

To Elena's relief, Damon broke into a genuine smile when he saw Enzo. "What happened to two hundred years?"

Enzo shrugged, embracing Damon like a brother. "Got bored."

"Oh God there's two of them," Bonnie muttered. "Elena, you needed a favour?"

"I do," Elena answered. "But now that Hope's gone and Damon's here, I'd really like to hear how these two met."

Damon's expression darkened. "No, you don't."

Elena arched an eyebrow. "Oh? You know Stefan and Katherine aren't going to accept that."

"I know, but …" Damon sighed. "Elena, just let it go, yeah?"

"Not happening," Elena said firmly. "What happened?"

As it turned out, Damon was right.

She had heard of the Augustine Society, of course - whispers at family gatherings, muttered arguments between her dad and John - but nothing about the kind of medical torture Enzo told them about.

Damon stayed quiet, avoiding her gaze, telling her without words that he knew her family's history with them.

"We kept each other sane in there," Enzo said finally. "When we got out, we burned the place to the ground and agreed that we'd go our separate ways for the next two hundred years."

"Figured that way we wouldn't associate each other with those memories," Damon muttered.

"You should have told me," Elena said flatly.

"I know," Damon said, finally meeting her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Enzo looked between the two of them. "I'm missing something."

"You tell him," Elena said to Damon. "Find out if there's anything I can do. Bonnie?"

"Of course," Bonnie said hastily, following her out into the back yard. "Are you okay?"

"Every time I think I know everything about my family, something throws me a curve ball," Elena said with a sigh.

Bonnie rubbed her back. "What can I do?"

"I need to speak to Isobel," Elena said, with more certainty than she'd used with Caroline. "I don't want to do it through Jeremy."

"That's fair enough," Bonnie said. "There is a spell I can try that would let you see what Jeremy sees for a while, but I'm not sure if it will work - generally, you'd need to be a witch."

Elena nodded. "Can we try please?"

It didn't work.

Elena was disappointed, but she at least got dinner with her brother out of it. Jeremy even offered to act as a go-between for her, but she declined.

She returned to the boarding house to find that Damon had offered Enzo one of the spare rooms. To her surprise, he made a point of finding her to apologise for any distress his story had caused.

"I already knew that my family had issues with vampires," she said, once she had recovered herself. "I'm more upset that Damon didn't tell me about it."

Elena went to bed that night with the fatigue she had grown used to in her pregnancy. She settled into the only position the babies would allow her to sleep in and soon drifted off, Stefan's presence warm against her back as always.

Some time later, she woke with a start, at first unsure as to what had woken her.

Stefan was no longer in bed and she rose to put on a robe to go and find him, when she realised two things: firstly that the clock had stopped and secondly that her baby bump, whilst still present and correct, was not causing her nearly as much discomfort as it usually did.

She was dreaming.

An odd dream, certainly - but a dream all the same.

She made her way out of the bedroom and down the dark staircase, fully intending to check to see if the other members of the household were also missing, and therefore try and figure out what exactly she was dreaming.

Then she saw it - a soft glowing light coming from the room the boys were setting up as the nursery.

Elena approached slowly, her hands automatically folding over her belly, coming to a stop in the doorway.

There was a woman, gazing out of the window - a woman with long dark hair - and Elena's heart began to beat just a little faster.

"Isobel?"