Chapter 5

She woke up warm and save, they were curled together. Somehow, she knew he was awake. She lifted her head and rested her chin on her hand on his chest.

"Morning sweetheart" he had a slight smile on his face "did you sleep well?"

"I could get use to waking up next to you. Be very careful or I might demand that happens every morning for the rest of forever" she said smiling.

His eyes were sparkling and his grin got bigger. "Now who would I be to complain? That actually sounds like the best thing I've heard in forever. And you know I have lived a very long…long time."

"Lijah" she breathed before she captured his lips in kiss. "If I could spend forever in your arms, I would be the happiest girl in the world."

When she needed to breathe again she pressed her forehead against his and sighed, "We probably need to talk."

"I think we do, sweetheart." He tucked her against his side.

"Okay…I'll start" she started giggling when the silence stretched out too long. "An old man like yourself should not be scared to talk about feelings."

"I'll show you an old man!" he flipped her on her back and hovered above her. Pressing his body to hers he asked "Is that something an 'old man' would be able to do?" he moved his body against hers, "Does that feel like I am an old man, sweetheart?"

"Okay, I got it, no mocking your age! I'm sorry…so sorry! You're right, no old man could feel so good" she giggled, while her hands got a mind of their own and started wandering.

"That's right! You better remember that." he smiled while kissing her on the tip of her nose.

"Sweetheart, if you want to talk, I would suggest not 'feeling me up'. It's destracting and I'm getting a lot of wonderful ideas for something to do."

In answer she just smiled and with her hand behind his neck pulled him into a kiss, "I'm getting a few ideas too."

By the time they actually decided to leave her bed it was after 11. It was the best morning she had spent in bed yet. By the time they left her room though it was almost 1. They had decided to share a shower, which they decided they liked and would be repeating often.

While making them coffee, she started talking "I can't let you die Elijah. I could live without anyone else in the world if I have to, I have seen that from experience, but I refuse to live in a world without you." She was too scared to look at him. It was stupid, they had spent the last 12 hours at least in each other's arms, but she couldn't help herself.

"Elena, look at me." He pulled at her arm softly. When she turned around he cupped her face with his hands. "I love you Elena Gilbert. I love you so much it scares me. I want to spend every minute of the next 1000 years showing you what you mean to me, if you will let me. Even if I just get the next 60 years with you, my love, it will be the happiest of my existence. And then I will find a way to join you. I agree that a world without you in it is not worth living in. I have walked the earth for so long and never felt even a speck of what I felt the last 12 hours in your arms."

"Lijah", she breathed, feeling a tear run down her cheek, "I love you too! God, I love you. I will never leave you. You will have to turn me, because I am not leaving your side."

His smile was blinding and then he was kissing her. She had never felt so happy.

Finally they got around to talking. She had debated on whether to be honest without him about coming from the future. She felt dirty just thinking about lying to him. So she told him. She told him about everyone dying, about the supernatural world taking over the human world. About nature trying to balance out the void Esther created. She told him about the spell she and Bonnie did to try and fix things. How she had to change the mistake she had made by not telling him before the bonding in the first timeline. When she started crying he folded her against his chest and held her tight.

Esther would not just disappear. She would find another way. Elijah phoned his siblings and asked them to meet at Elena's house and Elena phoned her friends. She felt apprehensive about everyone meeting, it's not like they got along. She was scared of how everyone would react. Together they decided to not reveal the future, they would only talk about the sire line. When Elena asked Elijah to not mention their new relationship just yet, she saw his mask start slipping in place.

"No Lijah, no. I want everyone to know that I love you and that you love me! I just think we need to do one major event at a time. I will be spending an eternity with you and I have no plans on hiding our relationship for long. Let's just get this breakdown out of the way and then the next time we can tell them. It might be better telling them when they are all together in any case." She peered in his eyes. The mask had slipped again. She pressed her lips to his. Then she gave him fluttering little kisses all over his face. "I love you, I am not ashamed of being with you. I don't want to be with anyone else. Ever!"

He held her close and sighed in relieve. He would do whatever she wanted. He might not like it, but he understood.

When the doorbell rang, she kissed him one last time and went to open the door. This was going to be stressful. She could already see screaming matches in the near future.

She opened the door to a frowning Klaus, "Wow, be careful or your face might be stuck like that…and I doubt Caroline would approve." She almost started laughing when he blushed. Rebekah actually smiled a bit and Kol grinned.

When everyone had arrived she started explaining everything that had happened. Esther's plan, what repercussions it could have had and the bit about how she had foiled it. As suspected Damon and Stefan were not so quick to believe that they too would die because of the sire line. Kol on the other hand only replied that it would make sense. When Bonnie glared at him he was quick to point out that he used to be a witch after all. The surprise on Bonnie's face was priceless. "Well you didn't think the Original witch had normal human children did you? We were all witches."

Damon stormed out halfway through. He had decided to berate Elena yet again for making her own choices. She had finally had enough and had told him in no uncertain terms that she had a mind of her own and a working brain. If he wanted a puppet to make choices for she was sure he would find something somewhere on the internet. And if he wanted her to make the choices that Katherine would probably have made, he was more than welcome to go and find Katherine. He did not take her standing up for herself very well. Stefan looked shocked. Caroline and the Originals were grinning and Bonnie had a frown on her face.

She couldn't care less. If he wanted to behave like a spoilt boy, something one would think he had grown out of after 150 years, then she would treat him like a boy. He could go and sulk elsewhere.

After hours a decision was reached. Esther could not stay a witch. Even if they killed her she would never stop trying to interfere from the other side. They would make her a vampire. She would be cut off from her powers then. They could then compell her. Now the plan just had to be put into action.